The Truth Hurts
by Thestrangestoccur123
Summary: All is ordinary for Sarah-Jane Marshall, a lonely student at Crimsonville High. There have been some mysterious animal attacks, but nothing major. But everything changes when a boy and his family move to town.
1. Chapter One

**Righteo. So, this is my first ever story on . I hope you enjoy it, and I would like some reviews, because I want to know if I am going bad or good. And please, when you review, nothing rude, because it isn't necessary.  
And remember, reviews are the things that make me continue writing, so the more I get, the more I write.**

**Chapter One**

_Sarah-Jane_

The rain was bucketing down, and the paper was outside. I groaned. Why did this have to happen now? Why couldn't the rain come later?

I grabbed my dressing gown and dashed outside, trying to get as little rain on me as possible.

The paper was in a plastic bag. They were actually smart enough to cover it today.

I tore the bag off the newspaper and read the headline.

**ANOTHER GIRL DEAD IN HORRIFIC ANIMAL ATTACK**

I jogged inside and sat down at the table, which held my strawberry jam covered toast and steaming coffee. I flipped the paper open to the first page and read the article.

_Police were horrified yesterday morning as a gruesome discovery was made at Harley Bay Oval, where the body of a fifteen year old girl was found. It is believed to be another animal attack, and residents of Crimsonville are becoming more and more afraid.  
This has been the fifth assumed animal attack that has happened in the past month, and so far police have not had any leads as to what vicious animal has been attacking the innocent children of Crimsonville.  
Many of the victims have appeared to be young girls, aged between fourteen and seventeen years of age, all going to Crimsonville High School.  
"We do not think that there is a link to the attacks, we believe that they are random. It's just teenage girls that have been the chosen victims so far," says Detective Chief Inspector Geralds.  
The name of the girl that has been recently found has not been released as of yet, as details of the attack are still mysterious, but they do know that she was a well known student at Crimsonville High, who suffered severely in this horrendous incident.  
"People need to remain calm and not panic over the situation," says DCI Geralds. "Parents need to make sure that their children are off the streets at night, and that they should keep a watchful eye over the area."_

I put the paper down and let out an uneasy breath. This was getting so weird. It had been the fifth attack in the past month, and it was getting closer and closer to town.

I continued eating my toast and rushed upstairs to finish getting ready for school.

I couldn't get the article out of my head. I knew I had to, but I couldn't.

I tried focussing on other things, like the Science test I had today. I already knew everything in it, but I thought that I should revise just in case.

"Sarah-Jane Marshall, come down here this instant!" yelled a deep voice from downstairs.

I groaned and threw my pen down onto the desk. What was wrong now?

I had been living with my father ever since my mother died. They had divorced when I was six, and since then, I had been seeing my father every six months for a week. But that all changed when my mother died of a brain tumour two years ago.

I didn't like to talk about it. It made me angry and upset. I was angry with God for taking her away from me, and leaving me with my father, who I barely knew anything about. He and I got on reasonably well, but there was the odd occasion where we were arguing. But that didn't happen too often.

My father and I had a lot in common. We both liked to keep to ourselves. We didn't like getting into other people's business, and we kept our distance from the gossipers of the town.

I stomped downstairs, still in my pyjamas, wondering what I had done now to make Dad mad.

I walked out into the kitchen, hands deep into the pockets of my dressing gown.

"What's wrong, Dad?" I asked.

He sat at the kitchen table, a bowl of cereal and a cup of steaming black coffee sitting in front of him. He was reading the story about the attack in the paper, and I could tell that he was worried. His beautiful blue eyes always went grey when he was worried or upset.

He looked up, and saw me. He pointed to a chair at the other end of the table. He ran a tanned hand through his greying chocolate brown hair.

He sighed, took a sip from his coffee, and looked at me.

"As you may have read," he started, as he showed the paper with the story. "There have been a lot of attacks around here."

I nodded.

"And I don't want you to be the next victim. So, I want you to start keeping a watch out. And no staying out late of a night. I want you home by 9.30pm at the latest."  
I frowned.

"Dad, I never go out in the first place. I spend my days and nights at home, and my life will probably be like that for a very long time to come," I replied.

Dad sighed, and I rolled my eyes, knowing what was coming next.

"Janey, are you alright?"

I nodded.

"Are you sure? You never go out any more, you don't talk to anyone, you lock yourself in your room to concentrate on homework. I know I wasn't too happy with you being friends with those yahoos, but at least you were happy. Your mother wouldn't want this, Saz. I want you to promise me that you are going to try and make a friend today, and make the right choice. I want you to be around people, not by yourself all the time."

I crossed my arms and nodded, looking at the floor. I didn't want to have this conversation, not now.

Dad could tell that I wasn't in the mood to talk.

"Alright. Go get ready for school."

I nodded and stomped upstairs, knocking everything off my desk in anger.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I had to calm down. A few minutes later, I knew I had calmed down enough, and continued to get ready.

I found an outfit to wear to school, and made sure all my books were in my bag.

I looked at myself in the mirror. I wasn't very pretty. I had wavy blonde hair, and dark green eyes, which were fringed with long lashes. My eyes were usually behind a pair of thick glasses, and my hair was always up in a ponytail. I didn't see how else to wear it. I wasn't one of those girls who was obsessed with their looks. I was focussed on school, and at the moment, that was all I had to keep me sane.

I decided that I was going to walk to school today, seeing as it wasn't too far away.

Crimsonville was a small town. Everybody knew each other, and it was a happy place.

There were less than 2500 living in Crimsonville. The only thing that made the town seem big, was the huge amount of forest that surrounded it.

It was a nice quiet place to live, except for all the recent attacks which had everyone scared.

I put on my heavy, waterproof coat. The weather was horrible, and winter had a way of telling everyone that it was certainly here.

Snow laid thick on the ground, and crunched underneath my heavy boots. I groaned as my feet sunk into the thick snow. I should have caught the bus.

I kept trooping through the snow, determined to get to school. I looked ahead of me, and saw that I was at the school gates. The school was actually kind enough to sweep away most of the snow, so kids didn't have to struggle when walking through.

The bell rang for the first class, so I headed to it immediately.

I had Geography, which was one of my favourite subjects, so I took off to class.

And that's when I saw him.

I could tell he was new to the school, because I hadn't seen anyone so beautiful before.

Dark hair, tanned skin, extremely tall, and the most gorgeous blue eyes that I have ever seen.

And those blue eyes were looking at me.

I panicked, and looked down straight away, wrapping my arms around my body, wanting to just disappear. I could tell he was still looking at me, because I knew I was being watched.

I carefully looked up at him, and saw an amused smirk spread across his face.

I turned away, and flicked my hair across my face, so that he couldn't see me, and hurried to class.

When I got there, I was glad that my usual seat up the back hadn't been taken.

I breathed in and out heavily, and walked to the back, invisible from the world. I removed my heavy jacket, and placed it on the back of my chair, leaving me in my olive green long shirt. I was pulling down the sleeves when he walked into my class.

My eyes opened wide in surprise, and I looked down immediately, grabbing my books out of my bag quickly, and pretended to look through them so I didn't have to see him.

He had seen me, amused expression still on his face. He was talking to the teacher, discussing what he was going to need for the year.

There was a spare seat next to me, and many others throughout the classroom. No one liked to sit next to me, because I was the "loner kid", the one who shied away from the world.

I wanted him to sit next to me, but at the same time, I didn't. I didn't want to have him sitting there, wondering why I'm staring at him like an idiot.

The teacher was telling him to choose a seat.

I closed my eyes and crossed my fingers.  
"Not here," I whispered to myself. "Not here. Please, God, make him choose anywhere else but here."

Unfortunately for me, God was in the mood to be amused.

"May I sit here?" said a cool, calm voice.

I frowned, opened my eyes and smiled at him.

He grinned back, and as soon as I saw him, I looked away.

"Yeah, sure."

He placed his books next to me, and sat down with such elegance that I was sure wasn't right for a guy of his height.

He was still grinning, and I didn't look at him once. I kept my eyes on the board ahead. The teacher had started the lesson, and already I wasn't paying attention.

He looked at me, and held out a hand for me to shake.

"I'm Heath Collins, and you are?" he said.

I looked at his hand, and eventually shook it. His hand was so warm, like he had been standing next to a heater all morning. In this weather, I wouldn't blame him.

I looked into his beautiful blue eyes and I couldn't help but smile.

"Sarah-Jane Marshall."

I released his hand and pushed my glasses up, as they were sitting on the bridge of my nose.

"That's an unusual name," he whispered.

I grinned and looked back down at my book, glancing very quickly at him every now and then.

And it was like he knew I was going to look at him, because every time, he would look back and smile.

And what a smile it was. It looked good before, from the distance, but up close, wow. It was fantastic.

He had perfectly straight, movie star white teeth. His teeth were so perfect that even the stars themselves would be jealous of him.

The teacher set us to a group activity, and we turned to our work.

It was very strange sitting next to Heath. We never spoke, but were constantly looking at each. It was very strange.

I decided to break the awkward silence.

"So, you're new here?" I asked.

_Well, duh. You obviously haven't seen him here before, _I thought to myself.

I closed my eyes and squeezed them shut, knowing that I just made an idiot out of myself.

He chuckled and looked back at me.

"Yes. I moved here last week."

I nodded. "Do you have any brothers and sisters?"

He nodded back. "I have an older brother and sister."

"So, you're the little one, are you?" I joked.

He laughed. "I guess you could say that. What about you? Any siblings?"  
I shook my head, my ponytail brushing against my back as I did.

"Have you ever wanted any?" he asked.

I crossed my arms on the table and looked down at my hands.

"Well, I actually used to have a little brother," I replied.

I didn't like talking about what happened, because it made me so mad and angry about how selfish and idiotic people could be.

But I knew Heath wanted to know what happened, and there was something about him that made me want to tell him.

"What happened? Did he move or something?"

I shook my head, and looked back down at my hands.

"He died."

He was silent. He didn't have to say anything for me to know that he felt like an idiot for saying something.

I almost hit the ceiling when he put a hand on my arm, in comfort. I could feel the heat from his hand radiate through the thin sleeve of my shirt.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered.

I smiled weakly and shrugged.

"It was a long time ago."

He moved his hand and looked back at the work.

I hated the silence. I wanted to hear his voice again, and I wanted to get away from the topic of my brother's death.

"So, what are your siblings names?" I asked.

He dropped his pen and looked back up.

"Isaac and Carmen."

I raised my eyebrows. "Interesting names."

He laughed.

"How old are they?"  
"Eighteen."

"Are they twins?"

He nodded. "And it is so frustrating to have them at home. They have this spiritual connection and it is quite frightening."

"Telepathy?"

"My family think so."

We laughed together. I was amazed at this strange conversation. Then a thought crossed my mind. Heath could actually become my first proper friend in Crimsonville, since my mother died. I wondered myself if Heath actually wanted to be friends with me. No body else did. Most people teased me for who I was, what I chose to be.

Like he was reading my mind, Donny "Jerkface" Clare decided to turn around and gave Heath a cheesy smile.

Donny was the most disgusting person I could ever have met. It's not because he was bad looking. Hell, he was probably the best looking in the school (after Heath of course), with gorgeous blonde hair with golden brown parts naturally streaked through it, and the most amazing brown eyes I have ever seen on someone. He was fit and athletic, with muscles in his arms and his legs, and I'm not sure how good his abs looked, probably fantastic.

But the bad thing was that Donny was a pig and perverted. He would hit on any girl that had big enough boobs for him.

I just wanted to slap him across the face the moment he turned around.

"Hey, new guy!" he shouted. Ugh, what a dope.

Heath chuckled to himself and smiled.

"Hello, old guy."

I held a hand over my mouth to stifle my giggles. Donny was not impressed.

"If I were you, I'd get away from Saz as quickly as you can. You don't want to be bored by her loner loser life," Donny said.

"As opposed to a stuck up, full of himself, moron's life like yours? I know which one I'd rather," I said.

Heath chuckled beside me, and Donny frowned.

"Thank you for the offer, but I think I'd prefer to sit with, Sarah-Jane."

Donny was a pissed off.

"Fine, your funeral. You'll get bored of her sooner or later."

I growled.

"Oh my God, why don't you just go and model yourself. You don't need many brains in that occupation."

Donny laughed and so did Heath.

"If you want my shirt off that desperately, all you have to do is ask, Marshall."

He winked and I narrowed my eyes.

"It won't be happening any time soon, so don't hold your breath." I paused. "Actually, on second thought, do."

He frowned and turned around, not saying another word.

Heath looked at me, and grinned.

"Have to put up with him often?"

I groaned.

"Only every day."

Heath smiled and turned back to our work.


	2. Chapter Two

**Right. Well, this is chapter two. Hope you like it. And please, please, please, review! I want to know what you think. If you don't have an account, but want to review, click Review this Chapter at the bottom of the page and you can review there. So in other words, you don't have to have an account to review. And please, nothing rude.**

**Chapter Two**

I found out that I had another class with Heath after Geography, and then another after lunch. I wondered to myself if he would choose to sit next to me in these classes, seeing as I'm the only person that he knows well.

He decided to sit next to me in Maths, and again, we talked about family and life and the people in the school.

All was going well until Clarissa Gorge realised that Heath was so totally hot and that he was in our class that she decided to talk to him.

Clarissa Gorge is one of the most stuck up people that I know. She hangs out with Donny, and just after my mother had died, she and I were best friends.

But I got sick of her group. All my grades were dropping, and I just didn't care about anything. All I cared about was my boyfriend and my friend.

But then I realised that I was forgetting about Mum. I wanted to no longer be depressed, and that's how Clarissa helped me, but she was making me forget about her completely. Dad spoke to me about it, and I realised that it was time to get back into a normal study routine.

So I ditched Clarissa and her "wannabes", and I dumped my boyfriend, and I moved on with my life. Sure, Clarissa was shocked, and ever since then, I have been picked on by her, but I realised that she's just jealous that I'm no longer her best friend, and I was proud of myself.

Clarissa turned around and flicked her blonde hair over her shoulder in a flirty way. I just laughed to myself to see how desperate she was.

Heath still hadn't noticed her, and Clarissa was a bit annoyed. But, she still had more up her sleeve.

"So," she said in a desperate, flirty voice. "You must be Heath."

Well, obviously.

Heath looked up, curious and nodded. "Yes, I must be."

I smiled to myself, covering up my giggles.

Clarissa flicked her hair over shoulder and smiled. She held out her hand, waiting to shake Heath's.

"I'm Clarissa Rose-Marie Gorge." At your service.

He extended his hand and shook it back. "Rose-Marie?"  
She nodded, proud that she could actually pronounce it.

"It's my middle name. It extends way back to 1851, when Crimsonville was first named. It was the name of the first birth documented here."

Show off.

I rolled my eyes.

"Actually, Crimsonville was named in 1856, after the discovery of crimson coloured roses in a large field to the north. The first settlement was in 1851," Heath explained. "As for your middle name, I think you're confused with Rosemary. That was the name of the first documented birth here."

I opened my eyes in shock, and Clarissa rose her drawn on eyebrows.

Heath shrugged. "I have a history here."

Clarissa was either annoyed that she was wrong, or amazed at how smart this hot guy was.

She grinned and waved a manicured hand in the air.

"Oh well. I know I have a Rosemary in my family somewhere."

I snorted and rolled my eyes. I looked up to see Clarissa shooting daggers at me with her eyes.

Heath just smiled and nodded.

"That's very interesting."

Clarissa hesitated, wanting to say something else, but not knowing what.

"Would you like to sit with us at lunch?" she blurted.

Heath glanced at her.

I rolled my eyes to myself. I knew that this "friendship" was only going to last for a few classes. Soon he was going to be part of the popular group and shoving his tongue down strangers throats before you know it. It's happened to every other new person at this school. They get caught in the wrong crowd.

"No thank you," he replied.

I looked up, confused.

"I think I'll sit with Sarah-Jane," he continued.

The look on Clarissa's face was so satisfying that I wanted to take a picture of it and frame it. She was devastated and so annoyed that she pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes, shrugged her shoulders and turned around, without saying another word. Success!

"Is she going to be alright?" a voice whispered in my ear.

"She'll be fine. But just don't expect her to give up," I whispered back.

He smiled and nodded.

"I'll keep that in mind."

The next few periods passed by in a flash, and before I knew it, it was lunch. I strolled over to my usual table in the corner of the room, hidden from the view of everyone else. I placed my food onto the table and picked up my English book. We were told to choose a book of our own to read in class and do activities and questions on, and I chose _Silent Scream_, by Lynda La Plante

I was up to the third act when I felt someone sit near me.

"Interesting book?" said a voice.

I looked up and into his crystal blue eyes and smiled.

"Yes, actually. I find it quite interesting. The main character is portrayed brilliantly," I replied.

"Well, don't read too much," he said as he picked my book up and put it on the other side of the table. "Or else your head will explode."

I rolled my eyes and pushed him away, only just realising how close he was sitting near me. I blushed and crossed my arms, looking down at my food.

Heath noticed my change and sat back, but his eyes never left me.

I picked up a fork and stabbed a piece of lettuce.

"So, how were your classes?" I asked, not lifting my eyes from my salad.

"Good. Italian is a drag, though."

I looked up and laughed. "Why?"

He smiled and shrugged.

"I already know the language."

My eyes widened. "Are you Italian?"

He shook his head, his dark hair shining in the light.

"I'm Spanish. I was born in Spain and moved here when I was four, and then went to Italy and lived there for a few years, then I went to a school in Philadelphia, then moved back here a few months ago."

I was shocked. He had to be one of the luckiest guys on earth.

"So, do you speak Spanish as well?"

He nodded. "A little bit. And French as well."  
I laughed.

"How do you get to do all of this?"  
He pursed his lips and smirked.

"Let's just say that I have a _lot _of spare time."

He stopped and took a sip of water from the bottle on my tray. I looked at him disbelief.

His eyes widened and his eyes sparkled with humour.

"I'm sorry, did you want some?" he asked as he held the bottle to me with a smirk on his face.

I laughed and shook my head. "No thank you, I'm fine."

It was so strange. He was acting like we were best friends, not like we had only met just over five hours ago.

He leaned over me and stole a piece of lettuce.

Wait. Something he said confused me. I didn't want to ask, but it bugged me.

"You said you moved here a few months ago? How come today is your first day?"

He smiled and raised his shoulders.

"Well, my mother used to home school my siblings and I. Then about three weeks ago, she decided that she wanted us to have a go at a normal school life, have a chance to meet new people and become social. It took a while us to find a school to go to, but we eventually found one."

He leaned over again and stole a crouton from my salad.

"Now tell me about you. I've been sitting here talking about me. I want to know about you," he said.

I placed my fork down onto the table, and folded my arms.

"There isn't a lot to tell," I started. "I was born here, and I lived here until my parents divorced when I was six. Then I went and lived with my mother for a while, until she died of a brain tumour two years ago, and I've been living with my father ever since."

"I'm so sorry," Heath whispered.

I smiled at him. "Don't worry. I'm fine. It's been rough, though, don't get me wrong. But I think that eventually I'll be fine."

"You mentioned that your brother died. That must have been tough," he said as he folded his arms, identical to mine.

"What happened?" he asked.

I wasn't surprised by his curiosity. He was the first who wanted to know. Not that other people knew about it anyway.

I sighed and opened my eyes, looking back at him.

"Car accident."

His eyes widened. "Really?"

I nodded.

"Well, I was seven at the time. My parents had just sorted the last of their divorce. My brother's name was Harley. You remind me a lot of him," I said, looking at Heath. "You have the same eyes as him, and, if you don't mind me saying, the same cheeky smile that he had."

He grinned and I laughed.

"Yes, that one."

I sighed again and took a deep breath.

"One day, Harley and I were playing out in the front yard. He was only three. We were kicking the ball to each other, when I did this massive kick, and the ball rolled onto the road. Harley went to get it, not seeing the speeding car that was coming. The car was swerving, and I could tell just by looking at the driver that he had been drinking.

"I screamed out to Harley. I told him to stop, and wait. He did, but at the wrong place. He waited at the gutter, and the car swerved into the gutter and hit him, crushing his tiny body. Then, the driver backed away and drove off, speeding down the tiny street.

"I remember screaming and crying, then running over to Harley and brushing his brown hair out of his face. His beautiful eyes were closed. I picked him up and held him to me, crying. Mum ran out of the house and screamed, sprinting over to us and wrapped her arms around me and Harley. She and I cried together.

"Some of the neighbours saw what happened, and some ran over to help, whilst others stood back and called the ambulance. But by the time they got there, it was too late. Harley was gone. Mum went into a depression for months. She wouldn't talk to anyone. She blamed herself for what happened."

"But it wasn't her fault," he whispered.

"I know. It was mine. I shouldn't have kicked that ball. I should have been the one who was hit. It was my fault that my baby brother died."

Something wet hit my hand, and I realised that I had been crying.

Heath rested his hand on my elbow in comfort. But that was the last thing that I wanted at the moment, even from someone as gorgeous as Heath.

I shrugged and smiled at him.

"So now, you know about me."

I heard the bell ring for the end of lunch, and didn't realise that we had been talking for that long. Heath and I had one more class together before the end of the school day, and I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out.

I knew that he would probably try and comfort me some more, but I had gotten over Harley's death years ago. There were still tears in my heart, I knew that, but I was starting to forget it, so that my life would become normal in some sort. But Heath just made the hole in my heart even larger, and it was disintegrating even more. I had to stop thinking about it, to keep living the sane life I was trying to live.

I had Science next, and Heath was in my class for that. I showed him the way, so he would remember, because I had the feeling that after this day, our "friendship" would drift further and further apart.

There wasn't as much to talk about in Science. We just talked about the teacher and did the work. In fact, Heath was really quick. He was finished before I had started the second question.

"Wow! You must really know your Chemistry!" I exclaimed.

"Um...yeah, I already learnt it at my old school. In fact, it was a yearly thing."

"Well, maybe you could help me with mine. I haven't got a clue!"

He laughed his musical laugh. He had been doing that a lot lately, which was good, because it was a sign that we were getting along.

"Well, it's really quite simple. Are you not a science fan?" he asked.

I pursed my lips and shook my head. I giggled and folded my arms.

"Not my strongest subject."

He rolled his eyes, in an amused way and grinned. "Well, why don't I do your work for you then?"

I shrugged my thin shoulders and grinned back. "Ok."

I only had to blink a few times and he was done.

"My God! You're like a machine! How can you do all this?"

Heath just winked and shrugged his shoulders.

"I guess I just have a gift."

I laughed and turned back to my now completed work.

I scratched at my nail and closed my eyes.

"Um, Sarah-Jane?"

I looked up at Heath's face and smiled.

"Yes?"  
Heath pursed his lips for a second, then continued.

"What do you think of me?"

I frowned, confused. "Why?"

He took a deep breath, and didn't answer for a little while.

"I just want to know what you think."

I could feel my cheeks go red. I couldn't tell him what I _really_ thought of him. I knew that he wanted to know the truth, but I knew for a fact that I didn't want to tell him. I couldn't exactly say "Heath, I think you're extremely hot, and I wonder why you want to hang out with a loser like me. I want us to be friends forever, and I would be desperately following you everywhere if you left me alone." Oh yeah, real smooth. Not that I would follow him everywhere. That would just be creepy.

Heath just stared at me, waiting with anxious eyes.

"Well, I think you're a really nice guy. You hung out with a loser like me for a whole day, that's a world record." I laughed to myself. "You're really sweet. You are good natured, and have a great sense of humour."

Heath nodded, thoughtfully.

"Why did you want to know?" I asked.

He didn't meet my eyes.

"Just, wanted to satisfy my curiosity."

I pursed my lips, puzzled.

Heath didn't say much for the rest of that lesson. I wondered if I had offended him. I asked him a few times if he was alright, and he would just nod and smile, answering with the same words every time. "Yes."

The bell rang for the end of class, and Heath and I went our separate ways. I had Art, and he had English.

I waved to him as we left, and he did a small wave back.

Yep. I had done something to annoy him.

Art went on for so long. We were learning about Picasso, which I already knew way too much about. I learnt about him in the seventh grade. I didn't even pay attention to the lesson. I mainly drew pictures in my book. I only listened when the teacher was asking questions.

After what felt like a never-ending lesson, school was over.

I caught Heath walking out of his classroom. I wanted to wave to him, but I saw him stroll over to a beautiful girl, older than me, but she was much more elegant. She was tall and thin. She had a curvy body, and jet black hair, that was so straight and even, it looked like she got her hair cut and done every day. She had light make-up on, but even if she didn't have make-up on, she would still be stunningly gorgeous. I could tell this was Carmen.

She was standing next to a tall boy, who was about the same height as Heath, maybe a bit taller. He looked exactly like Carmen, so I knew it was Isaac. He was more stockily built than Heath was. He had a lot of muscle. He had short dark hair, spiked and styled.

I just looked at the three of them. None of them were smiling. But they were all still beautiful.

All of a sudden, Carmen and Isaac looked over at me at the exact same time. My eyes widened in shock, and I put my head down and continued walking the opposite direction.

I raised my eyes to see if they were still looking. They were, but Heath was looking at me as well. He gave me a small smile as I passed, and I smiled back, then kept walking.


	3. Chapter Three

**Third chapter now. I cannot stress this enough, REVIEW please! I would love you to! It would make me so happy to receive at least five reviews. :L That makes me sound so desperate, but I'm not kidding. I really want to know what everyone thinks. I want to know if I should continue writing or not. And also, if you have any ideas on how I can make my book more PUBLIC, and let others enjoy the gayness of my special words, (:L) then tell me in your review, or send me a message. Ok, thanks a lot, and happy reading!**

**Chapter Three**

I kept thinking about meeting Heath today, and how nice it was to actual meet a person who didn't ignore me, or judge me, but tried to talk to me and get to know me.

I was too busy thinking, that I didn't notice the silver Mercedes sitting in my driveway.

I rolled my eyes and groaned. Great. Christine was here.

Christine Simon ("apparently" pronounced 'See-moan') was my father's "thirty-two" (though I know she's lying) year old girlfriend. I hated her so much. She just had this way of ticking people off, especially me.

She acted all posh and up-herself, like she was actually worth something, but I knew her for what she really was, the cheap-skate witch who knew exactly how to lunge her claws into men so that they would spend their hard-earned pennies on her.

Christine knew I hated her, and she hated me back. But she had the "_I'm-little-miss-perfect-girlfriend"_, act, down cold.

Fortunately for her, my dad was out at work.

I walked up to the side of her car, and looked in. She was too busy worrying about her nails and her cheaply dyed blonde hair to notice I was there. The window was open, so I jumped in front of it and yelled,

"Hey Barbie!"

Barbie was my nickname for her when my dad wasn't around. It suited her perfectly. She was bleach-blonde, and dumb. Dad hated me calling her that, so I only started calling her it when he wasn't around.

She jumped and threw her hands down onto the seat.

I started laughing. Man, I really didn't like her.

Barbie put her hands on the steering wheel and glared at me.

"What do you want, brat?" she hissed.

Unfortunately for me, in return for me calling her "Barbie", she calls me "brat". Vicious circle.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I asked.

She kept glaring at me.

"I'm waiting for your father, not that it's any of your business."

I laughed and walked away from the car, and headed up to the house.

"Sarah-Jane?" said a voice from behind me.

I spun around and my eyes widened in shock.

"Heath? What are you doing here?" I asked.

He smiled and took a few steps forward. I saw his hands were shoved deep into his pockets.

"You dropped something, this afternoon. When you rushed off, this fell from your bag."

He held up a small black mobile phone.

"Oh my God!" I gasped.

I ran forward and took it out of his hands, then, before I could realise what I was doing, I jumped and wrapped my arms around his neck.

He hesitated at first, but then he put his hands on my back.

Then I realised who I was hugging.

"Oh!" I gasped, and pulled back.

Heath didn't look shocked. In fact, he just stood there, amusement written all over his face.

"I am so sorry!" I said, brushing strands of blonde hair out of my face. "But you literally saved my life."

He laughed.

"It's fine."

I shrugged and smiled, my cheeks going incredibly red.

"Thank you, so much. I would have been in so much trouble if my dad found out I lost it. Thank you."

Heath put his hands back into his pockets and grinned.

"You're welcome. I'll see you tomorrow."

I nodded and walked away, back up to the house, feeling like an idiot.

"Oh, and Sarah-Jane?" Heath called.

I turned around, and looked at him. "Yeah?"  
"I put my number in your phone, in case of emergencies. I hope you don't mind," he replied.

"Oh, not at all!" I said, a bit too quickly. I bit my lip. "I mean, sure, that's fine."

He chuckled and waved good-bye to me, and headed off.

I scratched my forehead, feeling like a complete idiot, and turned around to walk back to the house. I saw Barbie leaning against her car, with a disgusting smirk on her overly applied made up face.

I narrowed my eyes and stopped where I was.

"What?"

She shrugged.

"Nothing. You two seemed awful friendly, that's all. I wonder how your father would feel about you having a boyfriend?"

I rolled my eyes and placed my hands on my hips.

"He's not my boyfriend. He's new to my school, he's sort of a friend, not that it's any of your business," I mimicked.

Barbie pursed her lips and shrugged her fake leather jacket shoulders.

"Too bad. He's pretty hot. Wouldn't think he would be into a girl like you."

"Didn't think my dad was into a middle-aged woman like you. Guess the world is full of unlikely and unusual possibilities."

She frowned and stomped her way to in front of her car, her shoes clicking on the pavement.

"I'm not middle-aged. I'm only thirty-two!"

I opened my eyes in mock surprise.

"Are you serious? You could have fooled me!"

She growled and put her hands on her hips. She was wearing a brown (obviously fake) leather jacket, over the top of a leopard print, low neck blouse, and a black mini skirt, with really tall black stilettos. She walked around like it was all designer, but I knew she bought it cheap off the internet.

"Listen, brat, you better start treating me with some respect. I might become your mother one day, like it or not. So, you better start treating me nicely," she threatened.

"Christine, you aren't worth marrying! You have been married five times, twice to the same guy! If there's anyone who should be treating the other with respect, it's you. Peter's my father, and he will bound to choose me over you."

Her eyes went wide, then she frowned.

"We'll see about that."

I rolled my eyes and walked to the front door, keys ready.

"You know it's rude to leave guests waiting outside," Barbie called as I stepped inside.

I popped my head out from the door and raised my eyebrows.

"Hey, you're my dad's guest, not mine."

Then I slammed the door so hard, it almost splintered.

I stomped up the stairs, and into my room. I looked out the window to see if Christine was still there, throwing a three year old tantrum, and she was.

She paced in front of her car, arms crossed and glaring at the house. She took a few more steps and then stomped back into her car. I didn't leave the window until I saw her pull the Mercedes out of the driveway and out of the street.

I breathed a sigh of relief. The witch was chased away!

I signed into my laptop and checked my emails.

There were two emails from a book subscription company that I was a member of, and an email from my cousin in New York.

There was nothing too interesting in the email from my cousin. She was a journalist for a newspaper in New York, and most of her stories were just about some of the crimes and break-ins of the city.

I signed out of my email, and started on my homework.

Since Heath had helped me so much in Science, I didn't have any work to do for that subject.

I finished all of my work pretty early, so I continued reading my book for English.

I was concentrating so hard on the story, I lost track of time. I didn't even hear my dad come in until he picked up the book and took it away from me.

"Hey!" I complained.

"We need to talk," he said.

Groaning, I sat up, and looked into his deep blue eyes.

"I got a phone call from Christine this afternoon, and she says that you were hanging out with a boy today. Would you care to explain?"

"It's not what you think, Dad. He's just a boy in some of my classes. He's new to the school, and I was helping him around the school. This afternoon, he came over to give me back my pho-I mean...book. Whilst this was happening, Barbie was waiting in the car for you," I explained.

"How many times have I asked you not to call her Barbie? You know she doesn't like it."

"Well, being called 'brat' isn't any better," I muttered under my breath.

"Excuse me?" Dad said.

"Oh, nothing."

Dad glared at me, then walked off, stopping at the door to look back.

"And, if you ever lose your phone again, I will ground you for eternity."

I narrowed my eyes and groaned.

Once Dad had closed the door, the cursing began.

Stupid Barbie. I hate her so much.

And, just as I was cursing, Barbie was entering our house to see my father.

I heard laughing from downstairs. It was a sickening sound, Christine's laughter. I grabbed a pillow off my bed and wrapped it around my head, to stop the sound getting through to my brain. I needed to protect it. The sound would sizzle my brain if I let it get that close.

All of a sudden, there was silence.

Oh no. It wasn't happening.

I ran out of my room, and sprinted downstairs. I wish I had stayed up in my room.

There was Barbie, her arms locked around my fathers neck, and his arms wrapped around her waist, kissing.

I skipped the last three steps, and jumped, pushing my feet hard on the floor as I landed.

They both looked up, and turned to look at me.

Barbie was glaring, and my father had no emotion on his face, whatsoever.

I grabbed a glass from the cupboard, and pushed through the middle of them, forcing them to let go of each other. I thrust my shoulder forward as I walked past them, hitting Christine and forcing her back. Then I stepped on her toe. Ok, that was part-accident. Her big feet got in the way.

"Ow," she hissed, trying to smile through the pain.

I went to the sink, without saying another word, and filled my glass with water.

"Saz, you stepped on Christine's foot," Dad said, giving me a glare that said I had to apologise.

"Whoops," I replied. There. That was my apology.

"That's fine, hun. I'm sure you didn't mean it," Christine said, sweetly, but was also glaring me.

I tried not to smirk as I pushed past her again and stomped back upstairs.

I read more of my book, savouring my sweet victory.

A little while later, I was called back down for dinner, where I had no choice but to listen to the squealing of Barbie's laughter and my father's bad jokes.

I just sat there and enjoyed my pasta.

"So, Sarah-Jane," Christine said, "How was school?"

I raised my eyebrows in confusion and looked at Dad. Since when did she care how school was? Then I realised what she was doing. She was back on the "nice" act.

"It was fine. We did some gardening in Science, today." Well, not really.

"Oh? Was it fun?"

I could feel a smirk pull on my face.

"Yeah, it was. But it was so annoying because this weed I tried to get rid of just wouldn't go away."

I looked at Barbie and smiled. She pursed her lips and raised an eyebrow. She got what I was saying.

"That's what I hate about weeds. No matter how much weed killer you use, you just can't get rid of them. They just pop up anywhere, even though they know they're not wanted."

"That's life, I guess. The more you don't want something, the more they tend to stick around," she replied.

"Unless you have the right way of _eliminating_ them."

Dad started talking about a case he has about a woman murdering her husband and blaming the housekeeper.

Barbie smiled at me, but there was a warning in her eyes.

We didn't speak for the rest of dinner.

After we finished our meal, I went upstairs and got ready for bed.

I jumped in the shower. I loved the warm water on my skin. The steam helped clear my head.

I scrubbed myself until I was certain I couldn't scrub any more, then got out, got into my pyjamas, brushed my teeth, grabbed my novel, and jumped into bed.

I only read a few paragraphs when I heard a strange noise.

It was like a hissing noise.

I laughed and rolled my eyes.

"You're going to have to do a lot better than that, Barbie."

The hissing didn't stop.

"Quit it!" I yelled.

"Sarah-Jane," called a voice.

"What do you want?" I screamed back.

"Do not be afraid, my Sarah-Jane."

I fell out of my bed, frightened and surprised.

"Mum?"

There was no answer.

"Mum?"

Still nothing.

All of a sudden, I heard an ear-piercing scream.

I gripped the sides of my head. The screaming wouldn't stop.

I couldn't see anything. It was black.

I could feel my body slamming into walls and beds and desks. But nothing compared to the ringing in my ears.

I opened my eyes and could see someone standing at my window. Their hair was long and black, and her eyes were shining a deep green.

"Mum?" I mumbled.

All of a sudden, everything went black.


	4. Chapter Four

**Ok, fourth chapter. So, this is from Heath's perspective. I hope you like it. I haven't edited it. So, I'm sorry for all the mistakes and such. And if it doesn't make sense now, don't worry. It will. It may be a while before I update and such, so please be patient, and remember, check everyday and review!**

**And please, tell your friends and stuff to read this, because I would really like some reviews and more people to read it.**

**I'm think of adding another book, so enjoy.**

**Chapter Four**

_Heath_

First day back at school. It's been a while, I can say that. Education sure has changed from what it used to be.

I still didn't understand why we had to come back to Crimsonville. So many other cities in the country, and we had to come to a little town in the middle of no where.

I thought living here would be dull. It sure wasn't last time. But I can't change the past, even though I really wish I could.

But meeting her has made my visit back so much better. She became my friend in the first day of going back to a school, of trying to start a new life. But if she ever found out my secret, Sarah-Jane would not want to know me ever again.

Carmen didn't like her, and neither did Isaac. But that was because they didn't know her like I did. But then I realised, I didn't know her that much either. All I knew was that she was a poor girl who lost her mother and her brother, and has to put up with a father who is never around. Too busy with work, believes that Sarah-Jane is fine by herself.

And that's how she has lived her life, ever since her mother died. Alone. Her father has a girlfriend. I saw her today. I overheard her and Sarah-Jane fighting, so they obviously don't like each other.

I wanted to become close with Sarah-Jane. I wanted to know her, become a best friend. I was drawn to her, and I don't know why. But I'm scared for her. Because the closer I get, the more she is at risk.

But who cares? Her own fault for trying to be friends in the first place. If something happens to her, well tough-

"Carmen!" I shouted, interrupting her messing with my thoughts.

She took long strides into the room, arms folded, long hair pulled up into a ponytail.

"Heath, you don't understand. You can't live like this. I wouldn't worry about her. She will end up like every other girl that has tried to be friends with you, I know it. And it will be her own fault."  
"That's not true! You know I don't have a choice of how I am!" I yelled.

"I know. And neither do I. You're not the only one who is disadvantaged, brother," she said back, coolly and calmly.

"What's going on?" Isaac asked as he walked in.

"Carmen's controlling my thoughts again," I replied.

"It's for his own good! All I saw you thinking about today was that Sarah-Jane girl. You are putting our family at risk, Heath. I don't know why we decided to come back anyway."

"You know very well, why," said a voice.

"Lucius, Leshana," Isaac nodded as they walked in.

Lucius and Leshana adopted my siblings and I when we were quite young. They had been looking after us ever since our parents had abandoned us for being different.

Everyone in my family had psychic abilities, except for myself. I had a different...gift, though I beg to differ. Carmen could read and control people's thoughts, without them even knowing. She could just slip into their minds, and mess with their brains.

Isaac could see the near and distant future. Whenever he had a blank look on his face, we knew that he was having a vision.

Lucius could control the movement with his mind. He could move something, or someone as high, as low, or as far as he wanted.

Leshana could heal. All she had to do was look at someone in pain, or dying, and she could have them healed within an instant. She controlled elements as well. Earth, fire, water, air were all for her use.

As for my...gift...well, let's just say that it's more dangerous than anything.

We were all immortal. We grew up to a certain age, and then stopped changing after that. Leshana and Lucius stopped getting older at the age of twenty-four, and they look much to young to be our parents. But Leshana stopped in the seventeenth century, and Lucius, 1865.

But for my siblings and I, it wasn't until the twentieth century . 1908 was the time when we all stopped aging. Carmen and Isaac stayed eighteen, and I stayed fifteen.

And we have been like this ever since.

Lucius nodded back and continued walking into the room, arm around Leshana.

"We couldn't stay in Washington because Indiana would have found out where we were."

"She would have found us even faster with us moving!" Carmen yelled.

"It wasn't worth the risk!"

Everyone was quiet.

"When is the next full moon?" Lucius asked.

"On Saturday," Leshana replied.

I stiffened up. I hated the full moons. They always meant something bad for me.

Lucius nodded and turned to me.

"We'll have to get you as far away from town as possible, on Saturday, Heath. The people here are becoming suspicious."

I sighed and nodded.

"I'm going to bed."

When I reached my room, I fell onto my bed, and relaxed. I closed my eyes and just cleared my thoughts. I could hear the wind blowing through the trees.

All of a sudden, I heard a noise, and opened my eyes. There she was, sitting on my stomach, grinning.

"Margaret," I said.

"Hey Heath," she said.

"What do you want?" I snapped.

"Indiana has been waiting for you. She wants to know where you are. Guess I've made her search a little easier."

"How did you find us?"

"I have my sources," she said with a smirk on her face.

I groaned. "Why are you doing this, Margaret?"

"I am only doing what Indiana wants me to. She told me to look for you, and give your whereabouts to her. She is mad, Heath, furious even, and she doesn't want to put up with it any more. She wants you banished from this Earth."

I swallowed hard.

"She can't do that. You don't want her to do that, you can't allow her."

Her hazel eyes went soft and sympathetic. She placed a warm, soft hand on my cheek.

"I know, sweetie. But I have to do what she tells me. She rules over me."

I nodded, annoyed.

Margaret sighed and sat back.

"Look, I report back to her on Friday. I will give you until then to move to a new place. I will tell her that I heard from sources that you moved to here, but I haven't seen you around."

"That's sweet, Margaret, but we're not moving. We have already settled here and we just went to school today. It would look suspicious if we-"  
"What's her name?" Margaret interrupted.

I smiled. "What makes you think it's a girl?"

"All of your pathetic excuses. Come on, what's her name?"

I grinned. "Sarah-Jane."

"Nice. Is she pretty?"

"Well, I have to admit, she isn't as beautiful as you or Carmen, but she is in her own way."

Margaret groaned and rolled her hazel eyes.

"Always the geeks, isn't it? Why can't you go for someone with kickin' looks like myself?"

I smiled. "Goodbye, Margaret."

"I'm serious. First it was that nerd in Italy, then another in France, then again in Washington, and now-"

"Goodbye, Margaret."

She pouted and climbed off my stomach.

"Fine. But you have until Friday. You better do something before then."

I nodded.

"Keep in touch," she added, and was gone before I could reply.

Margaret's family were old friends of ours. They were like us, were gifted in strange ways. Margaret could transport to wherever she wanted to, just by thinking about it. She could go from Rome to Mexico City in a blink. She and I were pretty close friends, and have been nothing more. But we can't say that we haven't considered going out, but she is like a sister to me. It would be awkward.

Unfortunately, due to my "gift", our queen, Indiana, has had enough of us, and wants to destroy my family. Margaret's family have been caught up in all of this, and Indiana has them at her grasp to do whatever she wants, whenever she wants it to be done.

I heard a knock at my door. I sat up, and faced the door.

"Come in," I called.

The door crept open, and in strolled my older sister.

"Oh, anyone but you!" I shouted.

"Heath, please, just listen-"

"NO! I know what you're going to say, and I'm not going to do it. I am not staying away from Sarah-Jane."

"I heard you talking to Margaret, and-"  
"Well, of course you did!"

"Listen to me! Please, Heath."

I sighed heavily. I shrugged my shoulders, telling her to begin.

"She came here with a warning, a warning that says if we don't move, she will tell Indiana where we are, whether she wants to or not. Indiana will force her to. Her gift is way too powerful and it is not something to underestimate."

"Carmen, you don't need to tell me, I know."

"No, you don't."

It was silent for a while. I knew Carmen was right, she always was, but sometimes she could be proven wrong.

"I'm not leaving."

"Please, Heath! We have to. This girl isn't worth the risk!"

"Carmen, I will not hurt this girl. I'll be fine!"

"It's not you I'm worried about. Ever since those attacks started in Washington, Indiana has been furious, because she knows its you. And because of that, we have had to drop everything and leave, just to protect you. Now, either we continue to run, or we stay here like sitting ducks and wait for Indiana to get to us! Your choice."

I stood up, and walked slowly to her, stopping inches from her face.

"Move if you must. I'm staying here."

Carmen growled.

"You're a child, Heath. Stubborn and cowardly."

I back off, and sat back down.

"I have a confession to make," she whispered.

"What?" I hissed.

"I...visited Sarah-Jane tonight. Did you know about her mother?"

"Yes. She died of a tumour about two years ago. Why?"

Guilt was written all across Carmen's face.

"What did you do, Carmen?"

She didn't answer.

I stood up and gripped the top of her shoulders.

"What did you do?"

"I just wanted to see if she had a weak mind, that's all!" she screamed.

"What does that mean?"

"You know I don't like her, right? You know how I feel about her?"  
I drew in a breath of shock.

"You didn't do it again, Carmen, did you?"  
"I didn't mean to!" she cried. "But, all that hatred that I had, all the anger, the way I saw you looking at her, it reminded me of what will happen! Too many girls have already died here, Heath, because of your recklessness. I couldn't make it another!"

"WHAT DID YOU DO?" I screamed.

"I...tortured her mind. I brought back painful memories of her mother, and tortured her."  
"Why?"

"I wanted her to hate you, to stay away from you! How many girls have to die before you realise what you are, brother? How many more will suffer?"

I had never seen her so wrapped with guilt before. And I had never seen her cry so much, either.

I brought my arms around her and pulled her into my chest. Even though she was older, Carmen was still tiny and fragile.

"I'm so sorry, Heath. You don't understand how bad I feel."

I let her cry into my chest and rubbed my hand on her high back.

"It's alright, Carmen. Get some rest, alright?"

She nodded and walked away, closing my door behind her.

I fell onto the bed, and curled my hands into fists, digging my nails into my skin.

I was so angry. I was angry with myself, with Carmen, with Sarah-Jane, with my parents, with my life, everything. I hated it all.

I just wanted to die. I hated who I was. In hurt everything I touched, and it just wasn't right.

I didn't sleep that night. All I thought about was her, Sarah-Jane.

I thought about her shyness, her witty comebacks, her long golden hair, her beautiful green eyes. All of these flashed through my mind.

Maybe it would be best for Sarah-Jane if I did leave. She didn't know me that well, she wouldn't miss me.

My heart ached the minute I thought that.

She might not miss me, but I knew for a fact that I would be thinking about her, all the time.

My head was foggy. I had no idea what to think. All I could think about was her, I knew I didn't want to think about her, but my heart told me that I thought otherwise.

Sarah-Jane's face was the last image I saw before I went under.


	5. Chapter Five

**So, I am trying to write as much as I can now, but school is about to start, so I have to get ready for that. I have been reading other peoples stories as well, and OMG, some are just great! **

**Anyway, let me know what you think!**

**And just to let you know, you may think that Heath is a vampire, but he isn't. He is something worse. I'm not saying what, otherwise I'll ruin the story. :L **

**And if you have an account, and want to be my beta, just let me know. ;) **

**Thanks.**

**Chapter Five**

_Heath_

_It was so dark. The only light that I saw was the beautiful glow of the full moon._

_The trees left shadows all over the ground, and it was almost impossible to see anything. I could hear a wailing sound. It was the sound of someone crying. It sounded like a young girl._

_Then, all of a sudden, the wailing was cut short, and there was a scream. It was an ear piercing shriek. It rang in my ears, and sent shock waves to my brain._

_I started running, towards the shrieking person. The sound wouldn't stop. It was just a long, continuous scream._

_Then, the screaming stopped. I sprinted harder and faster._

_I stopped dead when I saw the body._

_She was lying on the ground, blonde hair bloodied and covered with dirt. Her clothes were covered with blood and dirt, and she was lying in an unnatural position._

_I took a few steps around, to get a good look at her face._

_I nearly fainted._

_It was Sarah-Jane._

"_No," I whispered. "No! No!"_

_I repeated that over and over._

_But I kept quiet when I heard a rustling in the bushes. I hid, and looked out._

_A shadow stepped out of the bush and walked over to Sarah-Jane._

_I thought she was dead, and I think the monster thought so too._

_She coughed, blood foaming around her mouth. She opened her beautiful green eyes, and had a look around. Her eyes widened when she saw the monster standing in front of her._

"_NO! PLEASE!" she screamed. "Heath! No!"_

_I froze. Was she calling to me? Did she know I was there?_

_Then I saw the monster step out of the shadows, and I gasped, holding my breath. _

_The monster was me. I was in one of my trances. I didn't even recognise myself._

_My clothes were covered with blood, which I assumed was Sarah-Jane's. My eyes were no longer blue, they were black, as dark as the night sky. My hands were curled into fists, which were also bloodied._

"_Heath! NO! PLEASE!" Sarah-Jane screamed. _

_But I wasn't listening. I stepped forward, picked her up with one hand and threw her against a tree._

_I wanted to run out and stop myself, but I couldn't my feet were glued to the spot._

_I had no choice, but to sit there, and watch myself kill Sarah-Jane._

_Sarah-Jane screamed in pain, and I saw she was crying._

_I saw the Me-Monster walk over to Sarah-Jane, who was lying helplessly on the floor, and I stomped on her arm, and I could hear the bones break._

_There was another cry._

_Then I saw myself look up to the moon, and growl. I opened my mouth wide, and I saw the many sets of razor teeth in my mouth, all yellow, and covered with blood._

_I saw myself scream, then lunge forward and sink my teeth viciously into Sarah-Jane's skin. I heard another scream pass her lips, and then she was slowly fading away._

"_NO!" I screamed at the monster._

_But he didn't listen, he just continued to drink from her._

_Then I saw the look on Sarah-Jane's face. Her jade eyes were wide open, and so was her mouth. She just __looked so empty, so...dead._

_Anger rose in me. I hated myself. I was breathing heavily, then I threw down my fists, and screamed, loud, letting out all my anger._

I sat up, panting. I looked around, quickly, wondering where I was. I was in my bedroom, and I was in my bed. I had had a nightmare.

Sweat was dripping off my face.

I breathed a sigh of relief. It was just a nightmare.

But I couldn't get over how true that nightmare could become. I had to move. I had to go away. I couldn't hurt Sarah-Jane.

The other option I had was to commit suicide.

Every month, a girl was hurt because of me. I had lived that way for the past one hundred and seventeen years, and I didn't think I could do it any more.

I sighed, and told myself that I would worry about it later. I had to get ready for school.

I was dressed in a few seconds, and was downstairs in an instant.

Unlike the others, I didn't have to eat much. It was all because of my...power. But I ate at school, to keep up appearances.

I sat down at the table, and ate a corner of toast.

Carmen was sitting next to me, eating her toast, and chewing it quietly.

I couldn't stand the silence.

"Were you messing with my head this morning?" I asked.

She looked at me, eyes wide with shock. "Excuse me?"

"You know what I said, and I know what you did. Why, Carmen? I get it, alright!"  
"Heath, I didn't do anything this morning."

I snorted and ate more toast.

"I'm serious."  
I looked up and into her blue eyes. She was telling the truth.

"But I did see the nightmare."

I hung my head in shame. I really didn't want to talk to her about it. It was shameful enough, already.

But she insisted, anyway.

"You don't know what you're like when you're in that state, brother. You must be careful."

I nodded.

Carmen put her hand over mine in comfort.

"Please, you will be alright."

I drew in a heavy breath, and shrugged my shoulders.

"Let's go to school," I said, shaking her hand off.

_Sarah-Jane_

The nightmare scared me to death. I couldn't get it out of my head. It was rolling around in my brain, and would flash up randomly when I was doing the smallest things.

The blood, the screaming, the hard ground, everything sent shivers down my spine.

The strangest thing was, in my nightmare, I didn't know who was attacking me. The shadows were covering his face too well.

Well, I assumed it was a he. The voice was pretty deep when they growled.

I jumped out of bed, and strolled downstairs, my head pounding as I took each step.

I had to hold my head, and walk into the kitchen, and I almost fainted when I saw who I did.

"Morning, brat," Christine sung.

I narrowed my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest.

"Oh, don't worry," she said as she was making coffee. "You can't _really_ tell you're flat chested."

"At least mine are real," I said back.

She gave me a sarcastic smile, and continued making coffee.

"Did you stay the night?" I asked.

She grinned and nodded. "Though it might be the last time."

I frowned. "Why?"

"Your screaming episode last night. For God's sakes, Saz, if you're going to have a fainting spell, at least tell your father you're feeling sick. He was so worried about you last night."

I was angry that she used my father's nickname for me.

"I was fine. I don't know what happened," I said, coldly.

Barbie snorted, and waited for the toast to pop up.

"Well, you looked fine before you went upstairs, and your father and I were cleaning the kitchen when we heard a loud crash upstairs. Then, we heard you screaming, so we sprinted up to your room. Once we got to your room, you had stopped shrieking, and had collapsed.

"We had trouble getting into your room, because you had passed out right in front of the door. Then, we carried you into your bed, and your father called the doctor and everything. But then you woke and said you were fine, then fell asleep again."

I frowned. I was so confused. I remembered going dizzy, and vaguely seeing a woman standing at my window. Then I remembered going under, and not waking up.

"Sarah-Jane?" Christine interrupted.

"Yeah?"

"Are you alright, hun?"

I shook my head, getting rid of my thoughts, then smiled and nodded.

"Christine?" I asked.

She turned around, and looked at me, wanting to know what I wanted to ask.

"Did anything else happen last night?"

She pursed her lips, and squinted her eyes, trying to remember.

"Yeah, you must've had a nightmare or something, because you were screaming in your sleep," she replied, eventually.

I scratched my arm. I was so confused. I didn't remember anything.

"Would you like some toast, hun?" she asked.

"Yeah, thanks, Christine," I replied.

She looked at me and smiled. I knew Dad must have been around, because she was never this nice to me when we were by ourselves.

"You know, that's the first time you've called me Christine. I reckon something else happened to you last night as well," she said, and laughed.

I laughed too.

I turned around, to see if my father was standing at the top of the stairs, observing this new act of kindness to each other, but he wasn't.

Woah, something must be wrong with Barbie.

"Where's Dad?" I asked.

"Oh, he had to leave early for work. He has a case that was going to court today, so he had to leave to get into the city in time."

I nodded, and sat down at the table.

Christine pushed a plate of toast towards me, and I ate what was on it very slowly. I took my time eating, then chewing and swallowing. I was taking so long that it took me fifteen minutes to eat half a slice of toast.

"Sarah-Jane, you better hurry, hun. You have to be at school in half an hour," Christine interrupted.

I nodded, pushed the plate away, and jogged upstairs to get ready.

I choose to wear jeans again, and a light pink, low neck t-shirt. It was a warmer day today, but it was still cool. The snow was still piled all over the ground, but it was starting to melt away, I could tell.

I grabbed my think coat, put on my favourite sneakers, and went into the bathroom.

I brushed my teeth until they sparkled, and combed my hair. I decided to leave it out today. I hadn't done that in a while.

I put my glasses in my bag. I didn't need them all the time, just mainly for reading.

I grabbed my bag and strolled to the front door, ready to walk to school.

"See you later, hun!" Christine called, and I turned back and gave her a small wave.

On the way to school, all I thought about was the strange night I had last night.  
The images of my mother, the ear piercing screams, the blood, and the dangerous man.

I wondered if it was just my imagination, and wondered if it was a crazy sort of vision, of what might happen to me in the future.

I was pretty scared. I didn't want to be the next victim

But all my doubts and fears disappeared when I saw him waiting for me at the front gate.

"Morning, Heath," I said.

He grinned back and waved.

"How was your night with your father's girlfriend?" he asked.

I frowned and smiled.

"Like hell. How did you know she was my dad's girlfriend?"  
"I overheard you two fighting when I got there and when I left. Real piece of work?"

I nodded.

"The biggest. If they had a competition on the meanest, stuck up person who has nothing to begin with, Barbie would win by a mile."

Heath started laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"I'm just laughing because, she looks everything like a Barbie."

"Oh, that's my nickname for her. And unfortunately for me in return she calls me 'brat'. But still, it's funny, because she's a bleached-blonde."

"Ah, that makes a lot of sense, then."

We laughed together for a while, then headed off to class, just talking about anything. It was really nice.

_Heath_

I loved being around Sarah-Jane. I knew I could just be myself, without revealing all my deepest, darkest secrets.

I felt that when I was around her, I could just relax. I felt comfortable, and it was the first time in a long time that I have ever felt like that.

Sarah-Jane was telling me about her father's girlfriend, and what she said to her about weeds. I was listening to her when a felt a tug in my mind.

_Go away, Carmen_, I hissed in my mind.

_I'm just here to remind you, Heath, to be careful._

_I don't need you to remind me, sister. Go away._

_This isn't good, Heath. You could get her hurt._

_Carmen, I swear to God, go away or it will end up being _you_ who gets hurt_.

There was a very long silence, but I knew that Carmen was still tapped into my mind.

_Fine. But if something happens to her, don't blame me. _

I felt the tug disappear, and I knew she was gone.

I felt really bad. I had never threatened Carmen before. Never in my whole lifetime had I been so annoyed with her, or threatened her like I did before. I had never used my disability as a threat before, and it was very wrong for me to do.

_Carmen,_ I called from my mind. _Carmen, I know you're listening. Look, I'm sorry, alright?_

There was no reply.

_Carmen, please. Don't do this. I apologise. I didn't mean it._

I could feel her tap back into my mind.

_Whatever Heath. It's not my problem. You're only dangering yourself._

Then I felt her pull back out.


	6. Chapter Six

**So, I have had someone ask me what Heath is, and I had to spoil it and tell her (_you know who you are..:-- :L_) But I don't want anyone else to ask what Heath is. Because I don't want to spoil it. It's all to lead up to what the surprise is. :D **

**But he isn't a vampire. I'll tell you that.**

**I will mention it somewhere in a near chapter, so let me know what you think, and I'll continue to write. :D**

**Thanks !**

**Chapter Six**

_Sarah-Jane_

Heath felt very distant for the rest of the day. Every time I tried to talk to him, he always seemed preoccupied. I was worried. He didn't seem as happy and bubbly either. I felt like something had happened, but I was too scared to ask.

I felt lonely, for the entire day. There was no one to talk to, apart from Heath, and even he wasn't listening to me. I was beginning to worry. I didn't want to lose my new friend, especially since I cherished this one so much.

We were sitting in Math, and he didn't sit with me at lunch. He sat with his siblings instead. It had been five periods already, and I wasn't waiting any longer.

So, I bit the bullet and asked.

"Heath, is something bothering you?"

He looked up from his work, eyes open wide, like I had just discovered his darkest secret. He shook his head, eyes still wide.

"No, I'm fine."

I frowned. "Are you sure? You have barely talked to me all day. I was just wondering if-"

"I'm fine, Sarah-Jane!" he snapped.

I swallowed back some tears, and turned to my work.

Well, someone sure had anger problems.

I clicked my tongue in annoyance, and continued working.

I felt a hand reach over and touch my arm.

"Look, Saz, I'm sorry," he whispered.

I was astonished. He used my father's nickname for me. I had never even mentioned it to him before, and yet, here he was, calling me by the name.

I turned, trying not to show any emotion, and looked into his gorgeous blue eyes. No! I will not think about his eyes. I will not think about him.

"I'm sorry. Things have been weird at home lately, and there's always a time when I feel a little...on the edge. Today is one of these days. But that doesn't give me any excuse to treat you like I just did. I apologise."

Well, that was a pretty genuine apology for me.

I nodded.

"Alright. But I don't want you to hide anything from me. I want you to be able to tell me everything."  
I saw him swallow hard, and slowly nod.

I frowned in confusion, and continued working.

We barely spoke for the rest of the day. When the bell rang for the end of class, I packed up my stuff and walked out with Heath.

We were almost at the gates when a tall figure stepped in our way.

It was Carmen.

"Heath," she said, in a flat tone. "We were wondering where you were."

She turned and looked at me, looking as gorgeous as anything.

"Hello," she said, holding out a hand. "I'm Carmen Collins, Heath's older sister."

I took her hand, and shook it. Her hand was dry and warm, just like Heath's.

"I'm Sarah-Jane. Marshall."

"Oh, I know. I've heard a lot about you," Carmen said, looking at Heath with an eyebrow raised.

I saw Heath frown back, and narrow his eyes.

Sensing the awkward moment, I let go of Carmen's hand, and shoved it deep into my coat pocket.

I could see a silent conversation passing through Heath and Carmen, and I decided it was best for me to leave.

I stepped around Carmen, and turned back to see Heath.

"Um, well, it was nice to meet you, Carmen. I'll see you tomorrow, Heath."

He slid his eyes from Carmen to mine, and his serious face pulled up into a small smile.

"Sure. See you then."

Carmen gave me a small smile, and I returned it.

Not paying attention to where I was walking, I accidentally backed into a heavy, bulky person.

"Oh, I am so sorry!" I exclaimed.

I looked up and saw Heath's brother, Isaac. He was so big. He towered over me. He gave me a small smile, and stepped to the side to let me pass.

"Thanks," I muttered.

Scared not to run into him again, I hurried off.

That was the most awkward moment I have ever had in my entire life.

_Heath_

"Must you always do that?" I snapped at Carmen.

She stood there, perfectly still, just smiling.

"Do what?" she said, innocently.

"Embarrass me like that," I hissed.

"Oh, that was nothing. Wait until I tell you what she was thinking," she said, hysterically.

"Forget it. I don't want to know."

I pushed past her and Isaac, and stomped off to the car.

"I'm driving," Isaac said, as I stepped into the driver's seat.

"No, I am," I replied.

"I don't mean to underestimate your driving skills brother, but last time I checked, you froze at fifteen, and I'm eighteen."

"I want to drive," I hissed.

"What if a policeman sees you?"

I narrowed my eyes and growled.

"Well, I guess I'll have to get Carmen to use her compulsion."

"And, what makes you think I'm going to do that?" Carmen interrupted.

"Because, I'm going to drive as fast as I can, and you're going to be with me the entire way."

I heard her groan, but I ignored her.

I drove so fast, I was home in less than five minutes.

I sprinted up to the house, and slammed the door, only to see that we had guests.

Lucius and Leshana were in the middle of the room, surrounded by Margaret's family.

Sharni gave me a great big smile. I had missed her so much. She was one of my closest friends before we left.

She wasn't very big. In fact, she was tiny. She was very small, and looked extremely fragile, but she was anything but.

She had long blonde hair, more white than Sarah-Jane's, and it rippled down her back in waves.

Her eyes were crystal blue, and they reminded me of the ocean.

She was wearing a beautiful black dress, that was strapless and sequinned at the top. It brushed the top of her knees, and look fantastic on her.

I grinned back and stepped forward to give her a huge hug.

She beamed and hugged me back.

I stood back, her still in my arms.

"It's been-"

"Years!" she finished.

We laughed, and I hugged her again.

"I've missed you so much!" she said against my shoulder.

"Same here."  
We pulled apart, and I smiled and looked deeply into her eyes.

She placed her warm hand on my cheek, and grinned.

I looked over her shoulder and smiled at Phoebe and Hunter, Sharni and Margaret's parents.

I saw a tiny figure standing next to Phoebe.

She was blonde, like Sharni, but shorter, and her eyes were more blue.

I nodded at her.

"Savannah."

She nodded back.

"Heath."

Savannah and I never got along like we should. I was not a big fan of her, and she wasn't a big fan of me. She didn't like what I was, even though I couldn't help it.

Margaret's family was amazing. They were like mine, had psychic abilities.

Sharni could control others emotions. Handy in a fight. If someone was angry, she could calm them down in a second.

Savannah could phase into whatever animal she wanted. Her ability was more like mine, more physical than psychic.

Phoebe could not only see the future, she could control it. She didn't like using her power, because she always thought that the future should stay as it was meant to be.

Hunter could inflict pain on anyone he wanted to, and was gifted with super speed. When I sprinted, I was quick, but he was double that.

I smiled.

"It's so good to see you again."

Phoebe grinned. She was an older woman, frozen in her thirties, but she was absolutely beautiful. Her hair was black, and rippled down her back. Her eyes were a light grey, and she had a small body, but she was incredibly tall.

Her husband, Hunter, was like her. He had shoulder length black hair, and light grey eyes. But where she was small, he was big and bulky. He was like Isaac.

"It's good to see you too, sweetheart," Phoebe replied.

"We were thinking of sitting down, and having a cup of coffee, Heath," Lucius said.

I shook my head.

"I'm sorry. I have homework I have to do."  
Sharni elbowed me playfully in the ribs.

"Are you still keeping up the "high school" act?" she joked.

"And what, you're not?" I elbowed her back.

"No! It's much too boring, especially since I know everything already," she said pointing to her head.

I rolled my eyes and pushed her away.

"Well, if you want anything, just let me know," Leshana laughed.

"I want to see Heath's room!" Sharni yelled.

And she was gone before I could catch her.

I sprinted to my room, and flung open the door, seeing Sharni lying on my bed, flipping through my school books.

I leaned against the door, and grinned.

"What are you doing, relearning all this...stuff?" she said as she tossed the book backwards.

"Keeping up, appearances, Sharn."

I turned to my desk, fixing up the stuff for school.

"Who's Sarah-Jane?" Sharni asked.

My eyes widened and I spun around, snatching the phone off her.

But I was too late, she jumped off the bed and was searching through the rest of my contacts.  
"She's, just a girl from school."

"Oh! Is this the nerd Maggie was talking about?"

I smiled and snatched the phone off her again.

This time, I was successful.

"Maybe," I said.

"Come on, Heath. You can tell me!"

I kept silent.

"What, you don't want to because we dated for what, five minutes?" she complained.

I smiled at her, and shook my head.

"Her name is Sarah-Jane. She lost her mother to a tumour, and her brother was a victim to a car accident."

I saw her eyes widen in sympathy.

"Oh, goodness. Is she alright?"  
"She is now. I think she's getting used to it. But there is still a lot of damage."

"Of course. So, what's so good about her?"

I sighed, and walked around the bed.

"She's just different. She doesn't care what others think of her. She's...real. She's not a plastic person. She's warm, and kind, and..."

Sharni's eyes lit up.

"Don't tell me you're in love with her."

I smiled.

"I can't be. I only met her yesterday."

She breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well, thank God for that! But there is such thing as love at first sight, my dear friend."

I laughed with her, and pushed her away.

She collapsed on my bed and grinned at me.

"So, what are you doing here?" I asked.

The smile on Sharni's face disappeared as soon as the words left my mouth. She sat up, looked down into her small, manicured hands, and stayed silent.

"We left Indiana."

My eyes widened with shock.

"What?"

"She was just pushing us around too much, Heath! And when Maggie told us where you were, we decided that we couldn't be part of that any more. It was just too hard. We couldn't turn on family."

"So what did you do?" I asked.

I saw her swallow hard, and her hands fidgeted.

"Well, Maggie came back yesterday, saying that she saw you and knew where you were. She started crying and saying that she didn't want to turn you guys in any more. Hunter agreed that we had to get out of there. So, Maggie transported us out of Washington, and down to here before anyone knew."  
"You transported all the way from America!"

"We didn't have a choice, Heath! It was that or live in misery of Indiana for the rest of our existence. I couldn't live like that, Heath. I couldn't live knowing that something had happened to our family."

Tears rolled down her face. I wrapped my arms around her, and brought her into my chest.

"I'm sorry, Sharn. Really, I am."

She sat up, and pushed her way out of my arms.

"When is the next full moon? We have to get you ready for then."

I swallowed back the lump in my throat.

"It's on Saturday. I have to get as far away as I can. Hopefully I can get an animal instead of another girl."

"Please, be careful Heath. Don't have us travel here for nothing."

I sighed.

"I'll try, Sharni."


	7. Chapter Seven

**So, I am getting close to half way, I think. Please, R & R!! I really want reviews.  
Loving the support. :D**

**Chapter Seven**

_Heath_

I walked downstairs with Sharni, and saw Margaret. She was holding hands with Isaac. So, the two of them decided to continue their love.

They were both grinning, and Carmen came in behind, smiling too. She was walking with a man I hadn't seen before. He was tall, blonde, and looked so much like Sharni, just a taller and more masculine version.

"Oh, Heath, you haven't met Cameron yet, have you?" Sharni asked.

I shook my head, and stepped forward to shake his hand. His body was a lot like Isaac, but a bit a little less built. Cameron gripped my hand and shook it, his hand nearly crushing mine.

"It's nice to meet you, Heath," he said.

"Likewise."

"I've heard you've been up to some pretty wild stuff, Heath. Sounds awesome."

I narrowed my eyes at him. What a jerk.

"Has it's ups and downs. What are you?"

"Cameron is a werewolf. Guess you two will be out on Saturday night together," Sharni explained.

"I prefer to be alone, Sharn," Cameron said.

Jeez, been here five minutes and already he's a jerk. I saw Sharni narrow her eyes at him, and he glared back.

"That's alright, Sharn. I prefer to be by myself as well."

"Good," I heard Cameron say.

I rolled my eyes, and held Sharni's hand.

"Well, I guess that we best be off. There is a lot of work we have to do. Lovely to see you all again," Phoebe said, a smile plastered on her beautiful face. Hunter smiled at us, and gripped Phoebe's hand. Margaret gave Isaac a quick kiss on the cheek and whispered to him that she would be back later. Cameron shook Carmen's hand, then he pulled her in for a hug. She was a bit hesitant a first, but I could tell she was falling for him.

_Shut up, Heath_, she hissed to me. I grinned and winked at her, and she tried not to smile back.

Sharni turned to me, gave me a kiss on my cheek and stood up to give me a hug.

"I'll see you later, Heath."

Savannah didn't say a word to anyone, just walked off, with a nod to Leshana and Lucius. The six family members stood in a circle, all holding hands. Then, with Margaret's eyes firmly closed, they were gone before anyone could say good bye again.

"Gosh, I've missed them," Leshana said.

"Same here," Isaac sighed.

"I can't wait to see them again," Carmen said, a little too quickly.

I smirked at her and cocked my eyebrows. She narrowed her eyes.

_Not just because of him, Heath. I love their family._

_Mhm. Sure._

And before she could say another word, I took off up the stairs. I could finish my homework later. I didn't really need to do my homework now. I barely ever slept, so I could do it later.

I had an urge to talk to Sarah-Jane. I decided that I would email her. Carmen gave me her email address when she was thinking about emailing her cousin in Geography, so she searched her brain a little more and found out what her email address was and gave it to me. I know, I know. It sounds kind of stalker-like, but I swear, I had no idea about it. I never asked Carmen to do this for me.

I logged in to my computer and clicked into my inbox. A few emails from Sharni, but there was no need too reply to them, as I saw her today.

Then I saw one that caught my eye. It was from Indiana Mayers. The subject was _Heath_.

I took a deep breath and sighed, and clicked on the email. It opened up and I slowly began to read it's contents.

_Heath,  
It has been a while since we have seen each other. You caused quite a stir here in Washington, and nearly cost our entire race. Thanks to you, I had to go around and tidy the mess that you created. It doesn't matter, all is fixed now.  
But I am still quite mad. You deserve the punishment for what you did to that poor girl. She was a good person, respectable and trustworthy, and you had to end her life for her when it was only just beginning. Every night I lay in my bed wondering what would have happened if you didn't kill her, if she was still alive today. She was only young. And I am still hurting.  
But I am willing to give a little but of leeway. If you come back to Washington now, I will promise that I will make you and your families death quick and easy. But if you continue this nonsense, and this ridiculous man hunt for you, when I find you, and I will, your death will be so slow and painful, it will remind just what you did to that poor, innocent girl.  
Remember, no matter how far you run, I will find you, and torture you for what you did to Baby.  
Indiana._

I leaned back in my chair and drew in an uneasy breath. Indiana seemed pretty clear on what she wanted. _But if you keep a low profile, there will be lesser chance that she will find you_, I said to myself.

There was a light tap on my door, and then Carmen pushed herself into my room, her face filled with worry and fear.

"What are we going to do, Heath? We can't stay here."

"Yes we can. Just until we know where she is, and with Phoebe's family nearby, we will know what's going on. Plus we have you."

"Heath, I won't be able to help. Her powers are too strong for me. I won't be able to find out in time."

I strolled over to her and placed my hands on her shoulders, comforting her.

"Carmen, I have faith in you. I know for a fact that you underestimate yourself."

She started to protest, but I interrupted before she could say anything.

"Trust me, Carmen. When the time comes, you will know."

She gave me a sad smile, and slid her arms around me. I pulled her into my chest and slowly rubbed her back.

Even though I said I believed in Carmen (and I do), I couldn't help but be scared myself. Indiana was a dangerous woman. You'd have to be mad if you weren't frightened of her.

_Sarah-Jane_

When I got home from school, I saw Christine was still staying at my house. She was in her work clothes and had an apron tied around her waist. She gave me a wave with a spatula, and I half smiled back. Since when did Barbie cook? I shook myself and walked upstairs to my room, passing my father in his office along the way. I walked in, said hello, and gave him a kiss on the forehead.

"How was your day?" he asked.

I sighed. "It was alright. Pretty boring. How about you?"

"Oh, it was alright. I won my case, and I have another trial tomorrow, so I'm going to have to leave town for a while."

I nodded. "How long is _'a while'_?"

"Four days. But don't worry, Christine will be here and she's going to take care of you and I'll be back by Sunday."

My eyebrows shot up.

"What?"

Dad gave me a look, and I glared back. I carefully closed the door to the office and turned around, scratching my head.

"Are you out of your freaking mind?"

"Sarah-Jane!"

"No, Dad, I can't stand to be around her when she's with you. I'm going to go _nuts_ if I have to stay by myself with her."

"Saz, calm down. Christine likes you."

"No, she likes _hating_, me. Big difference. And plus, I am perfectly capable of looking after myself."

"No. You're fifteen."

"Yeah! And when I was thirteen I was cooking my own meals when you were at trials for the day. I can take care of myself."

"Sarah-Jane, please," Dad said. He was annoyed, and I knew he thought I was acting like a child, but I didn't care. I wasn't going to have Barbie look after me. She couldn't even look after herself properly, for crying out loud!

"Fine! But if you get back, and find her dead on the floor, don't act surprised, because I would be the one who did it."

He pursed his lips at me and cocked his eyebrow. I clicked my heels together, and stomped off, not looking at him again. Then I stopped and poked my head through the door.

"Oh, and by the way, I'm not dropping this. I am not having the Wicked Witch from the West look after me."

Then I stomped off (for real this time) and didn't look back, slamming my door so hard, it almost splintered. I stomped around my room, muttering to myself about how much I hated being treated like a child. It was like, ever since Dad met Christine, I had become his second priority. I was glad to see that Dad was moving on with his life, but I just didn't want it to be with _Christine_. I really didn't like her, and she really didn't like me back.

I decided to check my emails. At least it gave me something to do.

There weren't very many. There was another one from my cousin in New York, two from my Aunt Celia, and one from Heath Collins.

My eyebrows shot up. What? I had to read over the name again and again, to make sure my eyes weren't playing tricks on me. But, there it was, right in front of me, an email from Heath.

I ignored the other three emails from my family and opened the one from Heath. I glanced around my room, making sure no one saw my desperate act, and slowly read the email.

_Sarah-Jane,  
I want to apologise again for my rude behaviour today. I didn't mean to snap at you. I have just been having some trouble with my family at the moment, and I shouldn't have taken that out on you. I hope you can forgive me.  
I also want to say thank you for everything you have done for me lately, becoming a friend for me when no one else would, introducing me to yourself and letting me get to know you. Trust me, it has been a great experience to know you.  
Anyway, I hope you are well, and I will talk to you later.  
See you tomorrow.  
Heath._

I grinned with joy. He was happy to actually see me! He was glad to meet me! I had never had a friend like that before, especially one like Heath.

I wasn't sure whether to consider Heath a friend so early in time. We had only known each other for about two days, and I only knew a little bit about him. But if he considered me to be a friend, I guess there was no harm in doing the same.

I sat down at the keyboard and begun typing an email to him.

_Dear Heath,  
Thank you so much. And don't worry, I could tell that there was something wrong. I'm not one to dwell on things. But just know that you can tell me anything, ok? Family problems, friend complications, school dilemmas, you betcha. You can tell me anything.  
It's been great to know you too. You are the first proper friend that I have had here in Crimsonville. I know that sounds kind of sad, but it's true. Most people here are complete idiots, and I'm glad that I met you, because fortunately you are not like these morons.  
I hope you're well, too. And I shall see you tomorrow.  
Sarah-Jane._

I hit the send button, and smiled. I felt happy. For the first time in a long time, I actually felt happy. My life was beginning to turn around.

Just then, my computer rung and flashed, and it told me I had another email. It was from Heath again. I grinned and opened it. I nearly did back flips once I had finished reading it.

_Great. I was wondering if you're doing anything on Saturday. If not, meet me in the forest, near the biggest and oldest oak at midnight. I hope you can make it. And don't tell anyone where you're going. I want it to be a surprise._

_Heath._

I was so happy. He actually wanted to meet me somewhere! I was a bit concerned about the "don't tell anyone" part, but that feeling was quickly replaced with complete joy. I knew I would be able to sneak out of the house. Dad wasn't going to be here, and Barbie would be dead asleep, that was if I finally agreed to let her look after me.

I smiled and the keys, emailing Heath back.

_Sounds awesome! Sure, I'll be there!_

I hit the "Send" key, and spun in my chair. My heart was thumping with joy. I finally had a date with Heath!


	8. Chapter Eight

**So, as I promised, I added a chapter to _The Truth Hurts_. :D And I am continuing everything else. I haven't got an idea for _Emails to Bethany _yet, but I know how I want to the story to end. I just need to work out the in-between.  
Sorry, only a short chapter this time. The next ones will be longer, trust me. :D  
Anyway, happy reading! Xx**

**Chapter Eight**

_Sarah-Jane_

Excitement buzzed through me for the rest of the night. I couldn't sleep! I still had four nights to go until he and I would actually meet, but I was just so excited. I kept wondering why he wanted to meet me, and I so desperately wanted to know, but I thought that I should wait, and hold my tongue until Saturday night. I could ask him then.

Whilst I was smiling to myself in the dark, I heard my bedroom door open, and saw my father walk in. He sat down at the end of my bed, and stroked my leg.

"Sweetie, I've made a decision. I think that you could probably stay home alone for the days that I'm away. You're right. You're old enough to look after yourself, and I respect that. But if anything happens, I want Christine to be the first person you call, do you understand?"

I nodded, and realised that he wouldn't be able to see me.

"Yes, I do."

He grunted, "good", then kissed me on the forehead. He was out of my room before I could thank him. I rolled my eyes, then fluffed my pillow, preparing to go back to sleep. I only had to wait a few minutes before I was completely asleep.

**

I was in the middle of a great dream. Heath was there, and he was smiling. He and I were at the beach, laughing and joking around, acting the way friends do. All of a sudden, my dream was interrupted by a rustling noise, like leaves crunching on the solid ground. My eyes flashed open, and I saw nothing, just my empty room. I rubbed my eyes, and tried to sleep.

But then I heard another noise. This time it was like a sliding, creaking sound. I opened my eyes again, and didn't see anything but the wind blowing heavily into my room. I slipped out of bed, and tiptoed over to the window, gently sliding it closed. Once I was sure that the window was locked and secure, I scurried back to my bed and threw the covers so fast, it seemed like I wasn't human. I closed my eyes, and tried to drift into sleep, but I couldn't. I thought I could hear a panting sound, hard and heavy. I opened my eyes, and my body locked up.

There was a figure in the corner of my bedroom.

I couldn't scream. My body had locked. My voice box had stopped working. There wasn't any air circulating to my lungs. I was frozen solid.

The panting grew heavier and heavier, and I slowly leaned over to my beside table, to flick the light on. The light threw itself into the corner where the strange man was standing, but there was nobody there. Then I realised, the panting had stopped. There was a cool breeze surrounding me, and I realised that the window was open again.

My heart stopped. There was something, or someone in my room, or they were. I tried taking deep and steady breaths, but nothing seemed to work. I ran to the window, slammed it down and clicked the lock shut. I tried moving the window to make sure no one could get in, and when I was certain, I went back to bed.

But I didn't sleep. I was wide awake. My light was still on, and I hadn't planned on turning it off any time soon.

I was so scared. What could have been in my room? And another thing, why was it here? I was so scared, I couldn't sleep. I kept seeing the masculine figure in the corner of my room, fists curled and staring at me, panting, panting.

I had so many unanswered questions, and I knew they weren't going to be answered any time soon.

_Heath_

I lay awake that night, staring up at the ceiling, just thinking. Thinking about her, thinking about my new home, thinking about what I did, what I had become.

"Whatcha doing, Heath?" said a voice.

I jumped at the sight of Sharni, lying next to me in my bed, propped up onto one elbow.

"Oh, jeez, Sharn! You scared me to death!"

I pulled the blanket over my bare chest. I heard Sharni laugh and saw her roll her eyes.

"You don't have to cover up, Heath. I've seen it all before."

"Thanks for reminding me," I said, sarcastically.

She laughed, and rested her head on my chest. I placed a hand lightly on her back. She curled up, and tucked her legs next to mine.

"How did you get here, Sharni?"

"Maggie transported me. I told her I wanted to see you again, so she brought me here. Cameron's disappeared, so she went to look for him, and I came here before she went searching for him. She has a tie to him, so she should be able to find him soon enough."

"That's good," I mumbled, barely paying attention.

There was a long silence. All I heard were the steady breaths of Sharni, and her heart beating.

"Heath?" I heard her ask.

"Mmm?" I mumbled.

"Will Indian find us?"

I swallowed hard. "No. She won't. Carmen's going to keep an eye out, and she said she will tell us when she says her coming."

"Carmen told me about the email."

"What? When?"

"Just before. Before I came into your room, I saw Carmen, and she explained everything. She's really worried, Heath. And just expecting her to do a task as great as she is doing is a huge ask."

"I'm not _expecting_ her to do it. I know for a fact that she would. She doesn't want to die any more than I do."

But what Sharni didn't know was that I was scared out of my mind. She didn't know how much I wanted to run again, but that would raise so much suspicion.

All of a sudden, I felt an eerie calm. I was relaxed, and I could breathe. I wasn't too worried about the situation. I felt...fine.

"Sharni," I groaned.

"Sorry, but I felt you tense, so I thought I could try to relax you."

I smiled and wrapped my other arm around her, pushing her more into my chest.

"Don't do that again," I whispered.

I felt her tiny body shake with laughter. I kissed the top of her head, then rested my head on hers.

And we stayed like this for a while. Sharni was my closest friend, and once she used to be something more, but then we realised how weird it was. We were practically family.

Sharni's family weren't into the whole "school" act. They usually stayed in hiding, and barely ever went out. Not that someone would notice what they were if they went out. They looked very human like, and they pretty much were humans, immortal ones. But the only odd thing about their family, and mine, was that we were very beautiful. And I'm not saying that to be stuck up, we really were. It was a "blessing" with our powers. But apart from that, we looked like your average human.

But Sharni's family preferred to stay in hiding, where ours tried to look as human as possible. And if that meant going to school every single year for the rest of my life, so be it.

I heard a phone buzz, and before I could blink, Sharni had sat up off my chest and had her pink phone out of her pocket and to her ear.

"Mags," was all she said. She listened for a few seconds, nodded, said a few "Mhms", then sighed.

"Thank God," she breathed, and flipped her phone shut.

I gave her a look and she closed her eyes.

"She found Cameron."

"Where was he?"

"Oh, Burkes Street. He just went out for a walk and stupidly didn't tell anyone. He's only a young werewolf, so he has to be careful. But he's one of those people who don't like to listen to others. Does things his way." She leaned forward, brushed her lips against mine, and waved goodbye. I assumed Margaret was waiting outside for her with Cameron. As much as I didn't like him, I was glad he was home.

Then confusion hit me like a speeding car.

Burkes Street? Wasn't that where Sarah-Jane lived? What was he doing around there?

I swallowed back a nervous lump in my throat, and tried to relax to go to sleep. It took a while, but eventually my eyes slid closed and I was in a deep sleep.


	9. Chapter Nine

**Chapter Nine**

_Heath_

I got to school the next morning, only to see Sharni waiting for me at the front gate. She wasn't dressed very well for school. She had large chunky heels on, black, and sequinned. She as wearing black jeans, designer, of course. She had a black singlet that hugged her body, and a little grey vest over that. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail and long curls hung from it. Her eyes were lined with eyeliner, and she had a light pink lip gloss on. She grinned as she saw me, ignoring the amount of boys flocking around her, staring at every inch of her body.

"What are you doing here?" I hissed.

"Oh, you could be a little more happier to see me," she groaned.

"Sharn, I am, but I want to know what you're doing here at my school?"

"I wanted to see what was so special about your school life. I wanted to try it out."

"She's lying," said Carmen as she casually walked by.

"Oh, thanks, Carmen!" Sharni grinned. Carmen winked back and strolled in with her brother.

I folded my arms and cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Oh, fine! I wanted to see Sarah-Jane."

"And you couldn't do this far away, because?"

"I wanted to meet her personally."

"Oh my God, Sharn."

I was about to push her into the school, when I heard a voice from behind. I just had my hands on Sharni's back as I turned to see her.

"Oh, Sarah-Jane. I, uh, didn't see you there."

She was shocked. She was amazed with Sharni's beauty, and disappointed because her image didn't match to anything like hers. I could tell she was jealous as well, and she thought that this was my new "friend". If only she knew what I really felt.

She turned on a fake grin, and her eyes sparkled in the light. "Hey, Heath."

Before I could introduce them properly, Sharni pushed past me, hand held out and shook Sarah-Jane's. She was shorter than Sarah-Jane by about a head.

"Hey, I'm Sharni. You must be Sarah-Jane. Heath has told me so much about you."

"Yeah, I seem to get that from a lot of his friends," Sarah-Jane said.

"Saz, Sharni Maden is my cousin. She and her family are visiting for a little while. Sharni here is pretty much my best friend."

I saw Sarah-Jane die inside, and I regretted saying it. Where was Phoebe when you needed her?

"How lovely to meet you," Sarah-Jane said politely.

Sharni grinned. She hinted that there was something wrong, but like any good friend, she kept her mouth shut.

"Well, I better go. I have to see Mrs Jones before Maths starts. I'll talk to you later, Heath. Nice meeting you, Sharni."

"Like wise," Sharni said back.

Sarah-Jane avoided my eyes completely as she walked past. I wondered if she would be alright.

"She's nice," Sharni said. "A little down in the looks area, but if she did something with her hair, wore some light make up and ditched the glasses, she would be a real beauty."

I didn't reply. I just hitched my folder underneath my arm and continued walking.

"She likes you, you know, Sharni stated.

"I know. She's a great friend."

"No, I mean, as _more_ than a friend."

I snorted and continued walking. "No. This our third day of knowing each other. She can't."

"But I can tell you and her have gotten pretty close in the past three days. She really likes you, Heath."

I smiled. "What makes you so sure?"

"She looked at you the same way I did when I fell for you," she said, simply.

I stopped dead in the middle of the path, and looked at Sharni. She smiled at me, and stood on her toes to kiss my cheek. All of a sudden, the bell rang, and we headed off to class.

_Sarah-Jane_

_She is just his cousin. She is just her cousin_. These were the words that I used to convince myself. Unfortunately, it wasn't working. I had a feeling there was something more to their story, just like Heath's life.

_Why are you acting like this? It's not like you have ownership over him. You've known him for _three_ days. You think that just because he asked you somewhere, it means you_ own_ him? Get a grip_, I hissed to myself. I knew I was right, but I just couldn't help but feel a little bit of envy.

I didn't have a class with him until fifth period, but there was still recess and lunch. Whilst sitting in the middle of Food Technology, I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. It was from Dad.

_Left the house right now. Won't be back until Sunday. Remember, call Christine if there are any problems. I love you, bub. I'll call you every night._

I smiled to myself. There was a small ache in my heart at the thought of my father not being here for me for the next four days, but I pushed it aside and told myself that I would deal with it later.

I still had another period of Food Technology, and I still hadn't started making my cake for my assignment. We had to start it off by creating a design that we believed would sell in a cake store. Every one else in my class was ready to start making theirs, and I hadn't even chosen what the theme would be yet. I sat at my table, all by myself, doodling all over my notebook. I was surprised when I lifted the pen off the paper, that I had actually drawn what looked like an image from _Dracula_. I shivered, then hastily grabbed my eraser and tried to get rid of the picture. I ended up ripping the page in my urgency, so I tore out the page, and successfully landed the scrunched up piece of paper in the bin at the door.

After fifty minutes of wondering what was going on in my mind, the bell rang. I packed up all my books, and swung my bulky bag over my back. As I stood, a wave of nausea hit me, causing my legs to collapse from underneath me. I landed hard on my knees, wondering what was going on. The nausea had gone, and I tried to stand up again, slowly this time. I glanced up to see everyone's worried faces all staring back into mine.

I rested my hand on the table, trying to even my balance, before attempting to walk again. Just as I took a step, a swell of dizziness ran through me, and I felt so sick. It was like I was seeing everything, but not registering what it was, or even seeing it clearly. My head swam, and the irritating sound of my teacher's voice rung in my head.

All of a sudden, I could hear myself scream at her to go away. I tried to bite my tongue, and told myself not to say any more, but the words poured out of my mouth.

I felt like my body was disconnected from my head, and like I was just floating in the air. I could hear my agonising moans and groans through my head, but I didn't do anything to stop myself. I could feel the sharp edge of the table biting into my cheek, and as I tried to open my eyes, I thought I could see a shimmering male figure in the background. I couldn't get a good look at him, but I saw he was tall and blonde, and didn't stand out as much as the other kids, but I could tell that he wasn't like the others as well.

He was the last thing I saw before my vision was completely covered with darkness.

**

I woke to the sound of hushed voices, and the feeling of a cool thumb stroking my hand. I tried to open my eyes, and when I could open them halfway, they closed again in exhaustion.

"Sarah-Jane? Are you awake?" said a familiar voice.

I mumbled a yes response, and the voice called for a doctor.

Where was I?

I tried opening my eyes again, this time with a bit more success. I saw Heath sitting on my bed, his hand completely covering mine. Sharni was in the corner of the room, her head stuck in a book.

"Heath, where am I?" I mumbled.

"You're in the hospital. Apparently you had a bit of a moment in Food Tech," he replied.

"Oh God. That actually happened?"

"Don't speak, Saz. You'll just make yourself even more exhausted. We have to ring your Dad."

"No!" I cried, and my body reacted to this hurried movement. "Please...don't call him...l don't want him to have to...worry about me."

"Sarah-Jane, you can't put up with this by yourself. You have to have him here."

"He's not here...got a case...in the city."

"I'm sure he would rather be here with you then worrying about that."

"Please...Heath. Last time...fell off my bike...broke my arm...he had to leave a major...case...to come and see me...lost him...so much...clients didn't care. Just please....don't...call...him."

I was slipping from conciousness. I could hear Heath breathe out a heavy sigh, and his hand was back on mine.

"How...did you know?" I asked him.

"Carmen told me."

I saw his eyes widen, as if he wasn't meant to spill that out. I tried to frown, to express my confusion, but my muscles wouldn't cooperate.

"Huh?" was all I could say.

"She has a friend in your class. She texted me, and then I went with my teacher to see if you were alright."

I nodded and attempted a smile, to show how grateful I was, but I was just too exhausted. It was like all my energy had been wiped out.

"Ms Marshall," said a husky masculine voice. I rolled my eyes lazily over to a tall man standing at the door. He was tall, handsome, with dark hair, which was greying at the roots. His eyes were a chocolate brown, and he was quite thin. He had a white coat on, and there were two pens in the pocket of the coat. He gave me a smile, and strolled over to the bed.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

I made an effort to nod, but my neck was just so stiff and sore. Heath picked up on this, so he spoke for me.

"She's quite sore, pretty stiff. And she is exhausted, so maybe all she needs is rest."

"I understand. Ms Marshall, I am giving you some medication, just to ease the pain, and then you can go home. Are your parents here?"

I shook my head a little bit. "No...dad's in city...on work."

"Ok, hun. What about Mum?"

I could hear Heath suck in a breath, and I wanted to tell him to relax.

"Dead," I mumbled.

There was an awkward silence from the doctor, and from Heath, and even Sharni had stopped reading for a minute.

"I'm sorry, hun. I'm just going to sign some paperwork for you, then you'll be all set to go."

Once he left the room, I let my smile go and glared after him.

"Stupid doctors."

Heath laughed at me, and set a comforting hand on my shoulder. I gave him a lazy smile, then I drifted back to sleep.

**

The next time I woke, I was in the comfort of my own bed. My sheets and covers were tightly wrapped around me. My headache had disappeared, but there was still some stiffness in my body. I lifted my hands to rub my eyes, and my hand brushed a scar on my cheek. I remembered the table digging into my cheek, and guessed that it must have come from that.

I rolled onto my right side, groaning in discomfort, and noticed a small slip of paper on my bedside table. I unfolded it, and read the unfamiliar script.

_Sarah-Jane,  
I would have stayed with you, but I had to get Sharni home. The doctor told me that you had to stay at home for the next day, and if you felt well enough, you could go on Friday. I'll come and see you later, just to see how you are feeling.  
Heath._

I felt a tug of joy in my heart. He had wanted to stay with me. And he had taken me home!

If I wasn't so sore and stiff, I would have leaped out of bed and would have done my happy dance. I was so happy. I tried to remember that I was only his friend, and that it had only been a small amount of days, but nothing could cover up the feeling of pure happiness in my heart.

I knew that the only thing that would help me get better was rest, so I found the medication the doctor had given Heath to pass on to me, and took a tablet. I relaxed and settle back into my bed, under the covers, and tried to sleep. It didn't take long for the pills to start working, and I knew that I had fallen asleep with a smile on my face.


	10. Chapter Ten

**Chapter Ten**

_Heath_

I left Sarah-Jane's house with Sharni busily complaining in the passenger seat.

"Oh my God, I thought we'd never leave!" she moaned.

I didn't respond. I was too busy thinking about Sarah-Jane, and wondering if she was alright. I should have stayed with her, should have called Margaret to pick up Sharni. I should have stayed to look after Sarah-Jane, even if she was only going to sleep.

"She's going to be fine, Heath," Sharni interrupted.

I shook myself and glanced at her.

"I just didn't understand what caused her to go so mad. Something must have happened to have made her like that," I said.

"I'd just leave it now. Maybe she didn't have enough water," Sharni guessed.

"No, I don't think that's it. She completely lashed out. Carmen told me. She said it was like someone had tapped into Sarah-Jane's brain. I'll have to check. I was too busy worrying about her."

"But who could have done that, Heath? Indiana can't be here! She was in Washington last time we checked, and wouldn't have Isaac seen something?"

"I have no idea. He hasn't said anything."

We were silent for a while. Neither of us had any idea what was going on, and we had the feeling that the worst was yet to come.

I pulled into the driveway, questions still circling my head. Why had this happened to Sarah-Jane? Whas it going to happen again? But there was one question that scared me quite a bit. It was _Was Indiana really in Crimsonville?_

All these questions were put on hold when I saw him standing there in the rain, hands shoved deep into pockets, boots covered with snow, and an irritating smirk plastered on his face.

"Ugh," I groaned. Sharni saw what I was looking at, and she gave me a look.

"Come on, Heath. He isn't _that_ bad."

"There's just something about him that I don't trust. He just gives off this vibe."

"Well, I think you're paranoid. Carmen would've picked up something by now. They've been spending heaps of time together."

I frowned at this, and got out of the car. Cameron stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Sharni, lifting her off the ground. He placed her feet delicately back on the snow, and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Dear sister," he said. "What have you been up to today? Not annoying people, I hope."

He flicked his golden hair out of his face, his honey brown eyes sparkling in the sun.

"Oh no. I went to Heath's school. It is quite exciting, that's for sure."

"So I've heard. How's Sarah-Jane, Heath?"

"She's getting better," I said, narrowing my eyes.

"Good to hear. Well, Sharni, we have to leave. Margaret is waiting for us down the road. We have to go."

"Alright."

Sharni strolled around to my side of the car, stretching up on her toes, and leaning up to my cheek to give me a kiss on my cheek. I wrapped my arms around her, and squeezed her.

"I'll see you soon, Sharn."

"Will do. Take care of Sarah-Jane. I'll come and see you soon."

She let go of me, and had taken off with Cameron before I could say another goodbye.

I sighed once more, and leaned against my brother's car. He was still out for the rest of the afternoon, and Carmen was still out shopping. Lucius and Leshana were probably doing something together. That just left me alone. I promised Sarah-Jane that I would visit her again today. I smiled to myself, and decided that I would go back and see her.

I threw the keys to the car up in the air, and caught them behind my back. Sliding back into the car, I placed the keys in the ignition, turned the radio up and backed out of the driveway. I zoomed out of the twisting driveway, all the way out to the main road the turned off to my house. Pushing down on the accelerator, and not bothering to look either way, I accelerated down the road, the grunting from the engine echoing through the forest on either side of me. I slowed down once I reached the town, and like I had been there many times before, I twisted and turned all the way to Sarah-Jane's street. Making sure no one was looking or had noticed me, I sprinted to her front door, with superhuman speed. I lightly knocked three times, and the door was opened by a blonde woman.

She wore a lot of make-up, and you could tell that she was the type who told people she was twenty-nine when she was really thirty-eight.

It was meeting Christine.

Her eyes widened at the sight of me, and the corners of her mouth pulled up into a big grin. She leaned against the door, and her eyes rolled over me.

"How can I help you?" she asked.

I smiled, and I heard her heart beat faster.

"Hello. I was just wondering if Sarah-Jane was here."

Christine shook her head. "No, she's out still. But maybe I could help you?"

I heard another heart beat from the house, and I knew that Sarah-Jane was definitely there. She was either asleep, or had no idea Christine was here. I was guessing both.

"Uh, no thanks. I just wanted to get some homework from her. You see, I had to leave school early today and missed out on Geography."

"Ah, I see. Well, maybe I could help you?" she asked.

"That's very kind of you, but Sarah-Jane has collected my sheets for me."

Christine's face fell, and I grinned inside.

"I'll just come back later. Could you let her know I stopped by?"

"Of course."

I turned my back and as soon as Christine closed the door, sprinted to the side of the house and waited. It wasn't long before Christine was out the door, mini-skirt and all, trotting away in high heels to her car. Once she had started the engine, and backed out of the driveway, completely unaware that my car was still parked on the street.

Once I was sure she was gone, I strolled to the back door, and I was in luck. It was unlocked. I twisted the doorknob and walked inside. Skipping every second step, I was in Sarah-Jane's room in less than a second. She was still asleep, her blonde hair spread out all over the pillow, and the covers pulled off her body. I could see the cut on her cheek, and the bruises all over her body. I pulled the blanket up over her, and sat in the chair next to her, watching this beautiful creature sleep.

_Sarah-Jane_

For the second time that day, I woke to see Heath sitting in a chair beside my bed. He smiled at me, and I tried to smile back. It was a bit easier to move now, but I was still sore. Where were my pills?

"I told you I would come and see you again," Heath whispered.

I smiled at him, and tried to sit up in my bed.

"You haven't eaten, have you?"

I shook my head. "I haven't been out of bed all day."

"I can't let you starve. I'll be right back."

Heath walked down to the kitchen, and left me by myself. I reached over to my bedside table, and picked up my phone. There was a message from Christine.

_Where the hell r u? U were meant 2 b home ages ago! Ur dad won't b 2 pleased.  
U had a visitor whilst u were gone. Didn't catch his name. He was a hottie, tho.  
C u l8r, and u better b home nxt time I chek!_

I threw the phone down in frustration. Dad had promised that he wouldn't let Christine babysit me whilst he was gone! And what had he done, he asked her to check up on me!

I deleted the message, and the home phone rang when I did. Luckily I had a phone in my room, so I reached to the other side of me, and picked up the phone.

"Sarah-Jane?"

"Dad?"

"Oh, thank God you're alright!"

"Beg your pardon?"

"Christine rang me and told me you weren't home. It was five o'clock for crying out loud, what were you doing?"

"I...um...was at the library. I was getting some books for an assignment."

"Very well. But in future, let Christine know."

"Why? She's not my babysitter."

I heard an exasperated sigh from the other end.

"She cares about you."

"She doesn't. She cares about you."

"Well, Sarah-Jane-"

"Dad, I have to go. There's someone at the door. Thanks for "checking up on me". Much appreciated."

"Sarah-Jane-"

I hung up before I could hear another word. At that moment, Heath had walked in with a plate of cookies, chocolate, a peanut-butter sandwich, and carried a glass of cola. I smirked, and shook my head.

"Hardly what I'd call 'healthy'."

He grinned back, and sat down on my bed. "Well, after the day that you've had, you deserve it."

He passed me the glass, and I sculled it down before realising how thirsty I was. Heath raised his eyebrows, and I threw him an apologetic look, before digging into the cookies and chocolate and all the other rubbish he got for me. I hadn't eaten since that morning, and looking outside it was almost dark now.

"If you want, you can leave. It's almost dark."

"No, it's fine. I'll stay for a little bit. If that's alright?"

I tried not to show my glee. "That's fine with me."

I passed him the plate, and asked him if he wanted anything to eat. He shook his head. "I don't like chocolate."

I frowned. "Well thanks for making me feel bad."

We both laughed and sat together, talking and discussing for ages. We talked about school, about family, about life, everything. I told him some of my childhood secrets, but he didn't tell me much of his.

"So, let me get this straight. You went out with Donny Clare for...?"

"A month."

"And you broke up because?"

"He was changing who I used to be. I used to be intelligent, and I used to care about everything. Then I joined the "Plastics" and all of that changed. I dropped grades, I started trends that I shouldn't have, I was becoming one of them. Then I gave myself a look in the mirror one day and decided that I didn't like what I saw. So I dumped Donny, and left the plastics, and just became me. I will always have those memories though, and those regrets, and I understand that I will never be able to change that, so I just have to learn from my mistakes, and with that I can grow."

"I can understand that. They don't seem like very decent people."

"They're not, trust me. And every since I left their group, Clarissa has been picking on me more frequently than others."

"Clarissa is...?"

"The blonde bimbo who was hitting on you on your first day, in Maths."

"Ah, I remember."

He laughed, and I giggled with him.

"So, why did you and your family decide to come to little old Crimsonville?" I asked, after a bit of time had passed.

I saw him tense, and his eyes widen with what looked like fear. I saw him swallow back hard, and he ran a hand through his messy brown hair.

"Well, we kind of had to."

I frowned. "How come?"

"Something happened with someone close to my family, and it forced us to move. It shook us up a bit, but we eventually settled down, and we haven't heard from them in a while."

"Annoying relatives?"

"Something like that."

We were silent for a while, and it was so quiet, I could almost hear Heath's heart beating.

All of a sudden, my phone started buzzing, and I reached away from Heath to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Oh, Sarah-Jane, I'm sorry, this is Carmen."

I shook myself with a bit of surprise. What was Carmen doing ringing me, and how did she get my number? I sighed to myself, and closed my eyes.

"Hey. What's up?"

"Heath isn't answering his phone, and I need him home now. His number was on his desk, I hope you don't mind."

"No, not at all. I'll let him know. Thanks."

"Good bye, Sarah-Jane. And get better soon."

"Thanks."

We both hung up at the same time, and I turned to Heath. He looked annoyed and his hand curled into a fist on his knee.

"Um, that was Carmen. She needs you home now."

He glanced at me, turned on a smile, and nodded.

"I best be off then."

Standing up, he did something unexpected. He leaned down to me, kissed me on the forehead, then pulled back. I drew in a sharp breath, and stared at him. His eyes widened, as if he had just realised what he had done. Without saying another word, he turned away from me and bounded down the stairs.


	11. Chapter Eleven

**So, I promised that I would continue writing this book, and I have. Sorry for the amount of the updates lately. Life has just been so crazy with school and everything. So I have a lot of stuff to do. But as I promised, I save Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays or writing and so far everything has been going smoothly. But if something happens, I shall update and say what's going on.  
And I am writing _Emails to Bethany_, but I am just not sure how to put it yet. I know how I want it to end, but I'm just not sure what I want in between.  
Anyway, continue reading, and I shall let you know what's going on soon. :P**

**Chapter Eleven**

_Heath_

So many emotions were running through me at that moment. Confusion, anger, sadness, and happiness. I was confused because I had no idea why I did what I had just done. I was angry because I was screwing up my family, and the reason they came here was because of me. They sacrificed so much for me. I was sad because I felt so strongly for Sarah-Jane, and it had only been three days, and I wanted to be with her so badly, but I was restricted.

But I was happy because I finally knew how I felt. At first I wasn't sure whether it was just a friendship, or if it was something more, and now I'm sure that it's something more.

I pulled into my driveway, parking my brother's car behind my parents. Running a hand through my hair, I skipped up the front steps, and strolled into the room. Isaac was sitting on the lounge, head in his hands, with Carmen pacing nervously near him. Her arms were crossed, and she was biting on one of her nails. Leshana was standing with Lucius, who was doing some sort of research on the computer. I turned to Carmen, who hadn't stopped pacing.

"What's going on?" I asked.

She didn't answer. She just continued pacing, muttering to herself.

All of a sudden, Isaac sat up, eyes wide and empty, his mouth partly open, hands folded neatly in his lap. He was having a vision, and I could tell that this wasn't the first one today.

Carmen stopped pacing and raced over to him, placing a comforting hand on his leg and another on his back.

"What's wrong, Isaac?" she asked, quickly.

He didn't answer, he just sat there. I noticed Leshana and Lucius had stopped what they were doing, and were paying attention to Isaac.

Isaac sat still, not breathing, not blinking, not moving a muscle. All of a sudden, Carmen gasped, and stared at me. She looked like she was about to burst into tears.

"What?" I yelled. "What's going on?"

"We have to get you as far away from here on Saturday," Carmen hissed.

Isaac shrank back into the lounge, and blinked repetitively. He took some slow breaths, in and out.

"Why?"

"Isaac had a vision, and you were in it."

I looked towards him. "What did you see?"

He swallowed hard and looked at me.

"About twenty minutes prior to your arrival, I had a vision that you were in your..."phase"...and you weren't doing what you intended to do. Your victim wasn't an animal. It was another girl."

Leshana gasped and Lucius wrapped an arm around her.

"There's more," Isaac whispered.

We all looked at him, except for Carmen, who already knew what he was going to say. She closed her eyes and bit her lip, digging her nails deep into her palm.

"Just then, I had another vision, and I saw who the victim was."

I waved my hand, telling him to continue. "And?"

Isaac took a slow blink, and a deep breath.

"It was Sarah-Jane."

Leshana took another gasp, and tears fell from Carmen's eyes.

"We have to get him out of here. If he hurts her, there is not knowing of what might happen!" Carmen yelled.

"No. I'm not leaving her. I'm not going to hurt her," I said, strongly.

"You won't have a choice, Heath. When you're in your state, you would hurt your own brother if you had the chance."

I sighed. "What is Sarah-Jane doing in the wood, anyway?"

Isaac shook his head. "I have no idea. But if she happens to live this attack, she's going to put two and two together, and realise the connection with us and the other attacks."

"But like I said, it wasn't me who did those. I only killed one of those girls. I have no idea who killed the other four."

"Well, it's obviously someone who knows about us, or someone like us."

All of a sudden, it hit me, and it felt like a light bulb had lit up on the top of my head.

"Indiana."

"What?" Leshana hissed.

"Well, who else could it be? Who else wants us so badly that she would do anything to get to us? It has to be."

"That would explain a lot," Carmen said.

"It would," Lucius agreed.

Everyone was silent for a while, Carmen drumming her fingers on the coffee table, and Lucius stroking his chin.

"What are we going to do?" he asked.

"I'm not leaving. That's exactly what she wants. We're going to have to stay."

"But Heath-" Isaac interrupted.

"Sarah-Jane will have to be watched to make sure she doesn't go to the woods. If she gets there, there's no knowing of what I might do. Lucius and Isaac will have to make sure I am at a place where there are plenty of animals for me to feed on, or my hunger will go wild."

Lucius sighed. "Heath, are you sure this is going to work?"

"No, but we don't have any other choice."

I turned on my heel and started heading up the stairs to my room. Without saying another word, I ran to my room, frustrated and hurt.

I opened the door, and threw my jacket on the bed. I removed my shoes, and pulled off my shirt. I heard a noise from behind me, and I spun around, almost jumping at the sight.

"Hello Heath," Sarah-Jane said.

"Saz, what are you doing here?" I asked, breathless.

She was in a pair of blue jeans, which hugged her legs. A light pink t-shirt, with a black cardigan was thrown over her top half, and her blonde hair was wild and curly.

"I had to come and see you," she said. She took a step towards me, and I stepped back. She was smiling at me, an evil little smirk that didn't seem very Sarah-Jane-like at all.

"You have to go. The doctor told you that you need your bed rest."

"Like I said, I had to see you."

She was standing very close to me now, her body almost touching mine. Her hand slid to my shoulder, and she pushed me backwards, forcing me to fall on the bed. Her body snaked itself on top of mine, and her mouth crushed mine.

Her mouth was warm, and I could feel her skin burning against mine. I pushed her off me and frowned.

"Sarah-Jane, what are you doing?"

"Letting you know how I really feel," she whispered, breathless.

Her mouth found mine again, and her body pressed against mine. I rolled over, so that she was under me, and I slid my hand to her neck, her arms wrapping themselves around my middle.

I cradled her head in my head, and my other hand brushed up her body, all the way up to her neck, where the blade of my knife pressed underneath her chin.

She stopped kissing me, and I pulled back, seeing the confusion and fright in her eyes.

"Give it up, Whitney. It isn't going to work this time," I whispered.

The Sarah-Jane look a like frowned, and her body started to shimmer. Then her body slowly phased and transformed back to its normal form. She wore a white singlet and a grey miniskirt. I looked down at the beautiful woman underneath me, with her wild auburn hair, and her piercing green eyes. Her eyes weren't like any normal human eyes, the green filled the entire area of her eye. Her skin was scaly and bright blue, and matched her eyes. She frowned, and revealed a set of tiny, sharp pointy teeth, fierce enough to kill anyone in an instant.

"How did you know?" she complained.

Whitney was a shifter, but she could only shift into human forms, not animals like Savannanh. She was extremely clever, and a very mischievous person. She just couldn't outsmart me.

"Been around you for too long. Do you know how annoying it is to have people just drop in, unexpectedly?It's been happening a lot lately," I replied.

Whitney smiled and twisted a long-nailed finger into my hair.

"Do you know how annoying it is not to be invited?"

I chuckled, then immediately dropped my smile, and pushed the knife a little deeper into her skin. It was deep enough to give her some pain, but not deep enough to cut her skin.

"What are you doing here?"

"Indiana. She wants you and your family. Your stupid little transporter failed and ran off with her lot, so Indy sent me to do it instead."

"And now you're here to turn us in," I sighed.

"Yep. And I'm not nice like little Miss Margaret, so when I say I'm going to tell Indiana, I mean it. But, I can buy you some time. Instead of reporting to her tonight, I'll just do it tomorrow morning. But I'll tell you a little secret?"

I turned my head as she leaned forward, and whispered in my ear, "I'm going to miss you the most, Heath."

She leaned back and grinned. "I'm just sad I couldn't have you earlier. I reckon you and I would have made an awesome couple."

I smiled back at her, and laughed. I pulled the hand with the knife away from her neck, and slowly slid it up her shirt.

"You know, they say the best way to kill a shifter, is to slit it's throat," I whispered, close to her mouth.

She pursed her lips and smirked. "I'm too intelligent to believe that," she said.

"Oh, I know you are. But anyway, as I was saying, that's what people say. But I have to say I disagree."

"Oh really?" she asked.

"Yes. You see, I found that the best way is to get them when they least expect it, and to stab them right where their cold, black heart is."

As I finished the last word, my hand with the pocket knife dug itself into the flesh of her chest, reaching her heart instantly.

I saw her gasp, and her breathing stopped. She slowly looked down at the place where I had stabbed her, and saw the sluggish, brown blood that leaked into her singlet top. Her blue, scaly body slowly shimmered into her original human form: ebony black hair, normal green eyes, perfect straight teeth, and...human.

"I feel...so...cold...Heath..." she whispered, as I slid my hand back out of her shirt and looked at her. She tried to give me a small smile, but gave up, and she collapsed onto the pillow, blood leaking all over my white sheets.

I scooped her deceased body into my arms, and leaped out the window, sprinting, running with superhuman speed. When I had been running for about an hour, and was sure that I had run far enough, I dumped Whitney's body, lying it out neatly on the ground. I covered her with a blanket of leaves and flowers, and left her lying there. She had been a close friend of mine, but that friendship was ruined when she took Indiana's side over me and my family. After that, we didn't speak again, and hated each others guts.

But that didn't mean that she deserved to be treated the way she treated us.

I found a river on my way home, and I rinsed some of the blood of my hands and my body. When I realised that I was still covered in muck, I jumped into the water, scrubbing myself from head to foot.

When I was finally on my way home, I felt so much cleaner, even though I knew I needed a shower to eliminate the other germs and dirt on me.

I found Carmen sitting on my bed when I climbed through my window, in a black silk night gown that only just revealed her feet, and with small spaghetti straps.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"What are you doing up? It's nearly midnight."

"I couldn't sleep. Isaac keeps dreaming about what he saw in his vision, and it's disturbing me. I heard what happened with Whitney."

I nodded to show I was listening. I shoved my hands deep into my pockets, realising, but not really caring, that I had been shirtless for the past three hours.

"You were right to kill her. She was going to tell Indiana."

"I know that. I'm fine."

"Don't lie to me, Heath. If I couldn't read minds, I would still be able to tell that you're guilty. Also without Sharni's help."

I sighed. "I just hate killing people. It's just not in my nature."

"Well, you have been doing it for the past one hundred and two years."  
"Yes, but that's in my "phase". I mean as me, as Heath. As human."

Carmen rose from my bed, and rested a hand on my shoulder.

"Look, Whitney dying, is sad. But you had no choice. And we have bigger problems than that. We have to realise what you're going to do before Saturday, or it might be too late for Sarah-Jane."

I nodded, and Carmen gave me a light kiss on my cheek.

"Sweet dreams, brother."

She walked off, stopped at my door and turned around.

"Oh, and by the way, I changed your sheets for you whilst you were out. The others were a little...dirty."

She threw me a smile, then skipped off, leaving me standing at my window, smiling to myself.


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Another short chapter, unfortunately. But it's all part of the story. I need another short chapter so that I can get to the reveal of what Heath is quicker, and I need some time to pass. Anyway, enjoy reading and let me know what you think! :D**

**Chapter Twelve**

_Sarah-Jane_

Three hours after Heath had left, the house was empty apart from myself, it was absolutely silent, and I was still awake. So much was running through my mind, and I couldn't stop smiling. Heath had kissed me. It wasn't a full-on passionate kiss, but it was something.

I knew I had to stay at home tomorrow, so I decided that it wouldn't hurt to stay up a little later. I looked over at the clock. It was almost midnight. I wondered what was going through Heath's mind. I didn't want things to be weird between us, so I decided that I would email him, just wanting to let him know I was here. I also had a feeling that this Saturday was off, and I wanted to double check that too. I sat at my desk, in my empty house, with my little bedroom light on, typing away.

_Heath. I was just wondering if you were alright after today. Yeah, I know, I was the victim of the crazy psycho spaz, but I just wanted to see if you were alright. You seemed a little distant today when you were visiting me, and I just wanted to know if I offended you when I asked you about your family. You didn't have to answer if you didn't want to, if it was too personal. I just wanted to know some more about you.  
Anyway, I hope you're alright. I'll talk to you later.  
Sarah-Jane._

Not even two minutes after sending the email, and turning off all my lights, I heard my computer ring. I had received an email, and it was from Heath!

_Saz,  
Everything was fine. I was just too busy wondering about you to care how I was feeling. No, it wasn't personal, in fact, when I see you on Saturday, you can ask me anything you like. I hope you feel better. I miss you._

It wasn't signed, and the final words were _I miss you_.

Surely this relationship between him and I is something more than a friendship. I just knew it had to be something more.

"Woah, Saz. Calm down," I told myself. "It's been three days. That much can't happen in three days, can it?"

I shook my head, and smiled as I tapped on the keyboard, replying to Heath's email.

_Sounds great! So, Saturday is still on?_

I sent it, and waited a few seconds, eagerly waiting for his reply. Before I could blink for the third time, there was another ring, and a symbol popped up telling me I had an email.

_Of course! I can't wait. I'll see you then. _

I grinned, like an utter moron, so happy that he was willing for this to happen.

_Will do! _

I slept that night with a massive grin on my face. Images of Heath flashed across my closed eyelids, and I slept better that night, than I had for a very long time.

_Heath_

I knew Sarah-Jane wasn't coming to school today. She was still going to rest. I told her I would visit her later, but it was getting closer and closer to the full moon, and every day I was getting worse and worse. I woke up this morning, and I felt exhausted. There were dark bags under my eyes, and I was quite nauseous. My usually tanned skin was pale and had a slight purple-green tinge to it. I was standing in the bathroom, observing my new appearance. Carmen stood next to me, fixing up her mascara.

"Man, I hate this time of the month," I complained.

"Should you be going to school today? You're just going to get worse," she stated.

"Yeah, I'm not going tomorrow. Raise too much suspicion."

"You think?"

I narrowed my eyes. "You can't tell that much, Carmen. I feel fine, I just don't look it."

"What are you going to do about Sarah-Jane? You promised her you would see her this afternoon."

"I can't do it. I'll have to tell her I'm not well enough to see her, or something has come up."

Carmen placed a hand on my shoulder, and looked into my eyes.

"Heath, stay home. People are going to notice. You can rest all day as well. Dumping Whitney's body must have been hell. Stay here, and sleep. I'll send the message to Sarah-Jane for you."

I looked into her eyes, seeing the love and care in them. She was worried about me, and I wasn't the mind reader.

"No, you're not. So go to bed."

I smiled at her, and she grinned. I kissed her forehead, and then went to lie down. I didn't think I would sleep as easily as I did. I woke up a few times, wondering if anyone was home, but then I realised that Leshana was at work, and so was Lucius, and Carmen and Isaac were still at school. I knew that I would probably sleep for a while. I always got this way when it came to that time of the month. I could sleep forever. I looked at the clock. It had only been three hours since I last talked to Carmen, and I knew that sleep would come easier to me tonight.

I closed my eyes, and let the dreams comfort me.

_Sarah-Jane_

I woke up the next morning, feeling better than I did yesterday, but I was missing one thing. Heath. I rolled over, and checked my phone. I had two missed calls, and two text messages. I rang my voicemail, and heard the worried messages left from Dad and Aunty Amelia. They just said something like "Why haven't you called me/your father? I'm/He's so worried about you. I/He want/s you to call me/him soon."

I groaned and ignored the messages, going straight to my text messages. There was one from Dad, and one from Heath. I smiled and decided that I would save his message for last.

_Look, darl, I'm sorry for what I did. Want you to call me soon. Love you. X_

I checked out the second message

_Hey Sarah-Jane, I won't be able to come and visit you this afternoon. I haven't been feeling too well lately. I'm really sorry. I'll see you later._

My heart fell. I really wanted Heath to come and see me this afternoon. I was looking forward to it. I shook my head, and all of a sudden, I felt a sharp, stabbing pain in my stomach. My head felt light, and my body was heavy and sinking. My vision was blurry. There was a ringing sound in my ears, and it struck my eardrums hard.

I found myself on my bedroom floor, and I was dragging the blanket off my bed. I felt so cold, like I was being drowned in a tub of ice. I saw purple blotched all over my skin, and they slowly turned into green.

That was when I saw him, the blonde man who had been haunting me in my dreams.

On the occasions when I could see clearly, I saw that he wasn't a man, but a teenage boy, maybe a year or two older than me. His blonde hair was long, about chin-length, and his eyes were a beautiful golden brown, and warm like honey.

But he wasn't a warm person. He was cold hearted, and the eyes were just a mask. I screamed, and tried to hit him away from me, but my arms were glued to my side.

The boy stood over me, just staring at my face. I couldn't see much of his face, but his body stood out. He raised an arm, as if to strike me, when I screamed. He stopped, and looked at me. He lowered his arm, and tilted his head, just studying me. I was panting, and my heart was ready to fly out of my chest. I was so scared. The boy stared at me for a little longer. I blinked, and when I opened my eyes, he was gone.

I felt my eyes grow heavy, and my body was starting to relax. I felt even more tired, and stiffer than what I did yesterday. My body was going to win, no matter how much of a fight I put up. I closed my eyes, and let sleep win me over.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**I have been so busy lately, so it's harder for me to write more often. But I am trying to fit in as much as I can. I am just getting so many exams right now for school, and assignments and homework, so it is hard. But I will be writing more. I may or may not add another book, I'm not sure yet. I'll have to see how things go. But yeah, enjoy. :D**

**Chapter Thirteen**

_Sarah-Jane_

My cheek was pressed against the wooden floor when I woke up. I saw that I was still in my bedroom. My stomach growled with hunger, and I had a look at the time. It was 5.30am on...

Friday! How could that be? I sat up, and a bit of pain rushed through me. I felt pretty good, so I could go to school today. I was just confused. I had never slept for so long in my life.

Not being able to sleep any longer, I got up and got organised for school. Dad wasn't going to be home until Sunday night, so I only had myself to get organised this morning. I grabbed a bowl and sat down in the tiny kitchen, cold and alone. I looked at the clock, and realised that I had been sitting in the kitchen, by myself, staring at a wall, for the past hour. If I didn't hurry, I was going to be late for school.

I tried not to think of what happened yesterday morning. I thought about me going to school, and being able to see Heath again. That sure did put a smile on my face.

The next few hours flew by, and before I knew it, I was at school, eagerly waiting for Heath at the front gate. I glanced to my left, and saw his brother and sister walking towards me, but Heath wasn't there. As they got closer, Carmen gave me a smile, and she and Isaac stopped in front of me.

"Morning, Sarah-Jane," she said politely.

I smiled back. "Good morning."

"Heath asked me to pass on a message. He apologises, and says he won't be coming to school today. He has been really unwell lately, and he doesn't want to wear himself out on school. And he doesn't want people to catch what he has."

"What does he have?" I asked.

"Some sort of stomach bug. He has been throwing up a lot, and he just doesn't look well. It's alright. Leshana, our mother, used to be a nurse, so she's going to look after him today."

I smiled. "Ok. Well please; tell him I hope he gets better."

She grinned back. "Of course."

I spun around, and walked leisurely to class.

School went quite slowly without Heath sitting next to me, talking to me about students, asking me questions about my life, and discussing our work. I looked forward to seeing him every day. I decided that I would go and see him on my way home from school. I vaguely knew where he lived, and it shouldn't be too hard to find. I just had to get someone to take me there. I knew that Donny had a car, but I really didn't want to ask him.

_You mightn't have a choice,_ I thought.

I sighed. I would just have to bite the bullet and ask him. He was sitting in front of me in my last class, so I didn't have to wait to ask him. I leaned forward and tapped him on the shoulder. Donny and I didn't really talk much since we broke up, so doing this was going to be awkward.

Donny turned around and sighed. "What?"

"I was just wondering, can you give me a lift this afternoon?" I asked, innocently.

He narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

"Because I need to see a friend, and I haven't got anyone who can take me."

"Take the bus."

"The bus doesn't go out that way. Please, Donny?"

He sighed. "Fine. Meet me at the school gate as soon as school ends. I won't be too far away."

"Found another girl's throat to stick your tongue down?"

He frowned. "No, I have to go to the library."

I felt my jaw drop. "You, got to the library?"

"Yes, Marshall, now do you want a lift or not?"

"I do. Thanks, Donny. Means a lot."

"Whatever."

I smiled. I wondered whether to text Heath, but I wanted to surprise him.

The bell rung and Donny was out of the classroom in a flash. I strolled to the front gates, and hung around, waiting for Donny to come back from wherever he was. He came out of nowhere, and turned me around.

"Come on. Let's go."

Donny staggered off, with me following closely. No one looked at us, but we did get a few laughs and glares from Clarissa's group. Donny ignored them, and so did I. He didn't open his car door for me, but Donny had never been the one to have perfect manners. Without looking at the school again, I sat down, buckled myself into my seat and Donny took off before anyone else could notice.

"So, who are we visiting?" Donny asked.

I swallowed hard. "Heath."

He started laughing. "What, he's not here for one day, and you feel you got to go see him?"

"He's not well, Donny. I want to see if he is alright."

"Wish you did that when you and me were going out," he mumbled.

"Ok, first of all, Heath and I aren't together. We're just friends. And second, you didn't even visit me when I broke my leg!"

"You didn't break your leg," he scoffed.

"Yes I did! When I fell down the stairs!"

"Oh, that's right. Man, that was funny!"

I swatted him with the back of my hand.

"Ow! Do you want me to take you to see him, or not?" he yelled.

I shrunk back into the seat and mumbled. We were out of Crimsonville, and were heading into a massive forest area, with a road running right through the minute of it. After a while of sitting and admiring the view, I turned to Donny and smiled.

"I really appreciate this, Donny. Really, I do."

He narrowed his eyes, and glared at me. "I know why you asked me to come with you now," he shouted. I looked at him, and squinted. I was confused. He continued. "You want to get back together with me!"

My eyes almost fell out of my head. "What!"

"That's why you wouldn't catch the bus! You wanted to talk to me. Well, guess what. I am not getting back together with you. Ever!"

"I don't want to get back together with you, you daft moron! The bus doesn't go out this way! I asked you because you're the only person I know who-"

"Would want to go out with you again? Is that what you thought? Well, princess, that ain't gonna happen, ya hear me?"

"You brainless idiot! I came out here to see Heath! Heath is who I wanted to see."

He scoffed, and ignored me. "Whatever, Saz."

We reached the turnoff to Heath's house. Donny pressed his foot down harder on the accelerator, and raced down the road to Heath's house. There weren't any other houses in his street. It was like his house was in the middle of nowhere. There were a lot of trees, and a lot of grass, but it was like there was just this massive driveway leading to an enchanted place. I gasped as we turned the corner. Heath's house was massive. It was three storeys high, and was very modern, and was so...open. There were windows everywhere, and there was a set of wooden stairs out the front. As soon as Donny stopped, and I jumped out of the car, slamming the door behind me. After taking a few steps, I turned around and glared at Donny.

"You can go! I don't need to be babysat!" I yelled.

"Sarah-Jane, I'm not going to leave you here."

"I don't need you! I can get home myself."

He rolled his beautiful brown eyes, and turned the steering wheel, slowly backing out of the never-ending driveway. He stopped, and looked at me. He was worried, I could tell.

"Go!" I yelled again, and he turned the car around and sped off down the driveway, and the last thing I saw of him was the number plate of his silver Mercedes.

I spun on my heel and strolled up to Heath's house. I climbed the wooden steps, and reached the front door. I raised my hand to knock, and before the skin of my knuckles met the wooden door, it opened and there stood Carmen, grinning at me.

"Hey Sarah-Jane. What's up?"

I smiled back. "Hey Carmen. I just dropped by to see Heath. He texted me today, and told me he wasn't well, so I thought I would drop around to see how he was."

The smile on her face dropped, and there was a hesitant look in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Sarah-Jane, but Heath is asleep at the moment. He is really ill. He can't even get out of bed."

"Oh, gosh. Well, can I just pop my head in to say hi?"

She shook her head, and her black hair waved as she did. "I don't think that's a good idea, Sarah-Jane. He might be contagious, so we're just trying to be careful at the moment."

My heart fell. I was so looking forward to seeing him. "Ok, Carmen. Thanks. Tell him I hope he gets better soon."

She nodded, and I turned to head back home, when Carmen yelled out to me.

"Sarah-Jane!"

I turned around and looked at her, wondering what was wrong.

She ran up to me, and looked deep into my eyes. "What are you doing tomorrow night?"

I wanted to tell her that I was going to be meeting Heath in the woods, but I wasn't sure if that was going to happen anymore. If Heath was this sick, maybe he would call it off. But he hadn't so far, had he? Maybe he was hoping that he would be alright for tomorrow night?

So I lied, right to her face. "I don't know. Probably watch a movie. My dad is out of town right now, so his girlfriend might come over."

She didn't say anything about this. She just swallowed back hard, and flicked a strand of her hair off her face. "Ok, well, stick to that plan. No matter what, don't go into the woods."

I frowned. "Why?"

She swallowed again. "I just have a feeling that something is going to happen. With all these animal attacks going on, I would hate for you to become the next victim. Heath likes you, very much."

My heart was beating uncontrollably, and I stood there grinning like an utter moron, even though Carmen had just told me some pretty scary news. I just nodded, saying that I understood what she was saying.

Without another word, Carmen spun on her heel, and strolled back up to the house, leaving me standing there smiling.

--

_Heath_

I was exhausted. As the days got closer and closer, I felt more and more tired, and felt more and more energy drain from my body.

Carmen strolled into my room, and attended to the cold, wet towel that lay on my head. I had a fever that was driving me crazy. One minute, I would feel like I was standing right in the centre of the blazing sun, the next, like I had been held under freezing cold water. I looked up at Carmen, and gave my best effort to smile. She knew what I wanted to do, and smiled back.

"Sarah-Jane was just here," she said.

"I thought I could hear voices," I muttered, my voice hoarse and husky. "What did she want?"

"You."

I tried to frown, but it just hurt too much. She got my confusion, and explained.

"She heard that you were sick, and wanted to come and see if you were feeling better. I told her you were asleep."

"But I wasn't."

"Heath, do you think I could let her see you like this? She would get that there was something else wrong with you than just a common flu."

Carmen continued fussing around me, but she was extremely quiet. I knew there was something wrong, and guessed that there was more to the story.

"You told her not to go out on Saturday, didn't you?"

She didn't say anything. She just continued cleaning around me.

"Carmen," I hissed.

"Ok! I just didn't want her to be the next one, Heath. You love her too much."

"I don't love her," I said, a bit too quickly.

"Yes, you do. And don't give me the crap that it has only been three days. You love her, I can tell. Some people fall in love earlier, some later. It doesn't matter. Just be careful, alright? She doesn't know the truth about you, or us."

I nodded. She gave me a smile, and leaned in to kiss my forehead. "Sleep well, Heath. I'll see you on Sunday."

As she said those words, my eyes started to get heavy and were slowly closing. I knew that I had to sleep now, and that I wouldn't wake until Sunday. That was the way my body worked with this "gift" thing.

The last thing I thought, before I fell asleep, was a prayer. It was a prayer that asked God for forgiveness, pray that I didn't hurt another girl, and that if I did, that girl wasn't Sarah-Jane.


End file.
